"Speaking of which, I, Liu Ji and Brother Luo, were opponents before." Liu Bowen's thoughts returned to reality, and said, "Back then, I proposed to the emperor, that is, the then King of Wu, to pretend to attack Huzhou, so as to confuse Zhang Shicheng, and the remaining troops went all out to deal with Chen Youliang. Brother Luo was giving advice to Zhang Shicheng at that time, and he must have seen my plan. ”

"Yes, I can see that. At that time, I suggested that Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang attack Jinling. Luo Guanzhong shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that Zhang Shicheng is just like Yuan Shao, who is wide on the outside and taboo on the inside, and is indecisive." If you have talent, you can't use it, and you can't accept it when you hear goodness...... Although he was very respectful to both of us, he simply did not listen to any of our suggestions. ”

"Such a lord, even if Zhuge Liang is alive, I'm afraid he can't help it." Shi Nai'an was also sighing.

"Yuan Shao in "Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms" written by Brother Luo should have the shadow of Zhang Shicheng." Gao Qi said with a smile. He and Liu Bowen have also read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and they like it very much, otherwise they would not have sympathized with each other.

"Not bad." Luo Guanzhong said, "For those of us who are scholars, it is a great regret in our lives that we can't meet a wise lord. I can only express my dissatisfaction in the article and talk about comfort. ”

"But now Brother Luo and Shi Lao abandon the secret and serve the Ming, and it is not too late to contribute to the country from now on." Gao Qidao.

"The two of you can't show their talents with Zhang Shicheng, and it's the same with the emperor to display their ambitions here."

"Our current Emperor Zhu is both eloquent and loving, and he is a holy monarch." Liu Bowen said, "Serving the Ming Dynasty, the two of them will definitely establish a great cause in the future, go down in history, and live up to their knowledge." ”

"Not bad." Luo Guanzhong nodded in agreement, "It is precisely because we see that the emperor loves the people, so we are willing to go out of the mountain to assist the left." ”

Not going out of the mountain is the fate of Shandong Erxian, but the crowd didn't say it.

"Speaking of that Zhang Shicheng, he is really too far worse than Emperor Zhu." Shi Nai'an also sighed.

"Yes, whether it is Zhang Shicheng or Chen Youliang, they can't be compared with the emperor." Gao Qidao.

"Brother Luo and I have also fought secretly, so it can be said that we don't know each other." Liu Bowen said.

"Not bad, not bad." Luo Guanzhong said, "When I was on Zhang Shicheng's side, I admired the three great sages. ”

"In the future, my master and apprentice will be officials in the same dynasty as a few people, and I hope that a few of them will take care of them." Shi Nai'an said.

"Where, where, the two of you are too modest." Gao Qidao, "With the peerless talents of the two, the emperor will definitely entrust the two with important tasks. It is inevitable that the limelight will surpass a few of us in the future. ”

"Brother Gao said that we are talented all over the world?" Shi Nai'an smiled bitterly, "Our master and apprentice are not even comparable to that person's apprentice." The champion was taken away by the princess, and we are just looking for flowers. ”

"Yes, with the modest talents of the two of us, how can the emperor give us a heavy responsibility?" Luo Guanzhong said, it seems that because he lost to Zhu Yingrao, he was quite interested.

"That's not the case." Liu Bowen said, "Although that person is talented, it is impossible for him to treat all the officials in the court." Moreover, he lived in seclusion in Lujia Village as a private school gentleman, and belonged to a hermit master. ”

"It's impossible to handle some actual government affairs for the emperor, at most it's just an occasional suggestion."

"To deal with the government affairs of the court, the emperor still has to rely on those of us who are in the court." Gao Qidao.

"I really envy his idyllic life!" Liu Bowen sighed.

"Moreover, the emperor's intention of letting the two of us be the main exams this time and promoting the students from the southwest could not be clearer. That is, a few of us should unite to balance those Huaixi nobles. Gao Qidao.

"Therefore, balancing those Huaixi nobles and arrogant soldiers is the important task given by the emperor to the two."

"It's too early to say that." Shi Nai'an said, "Let's see how the emperor arranges us." ”

After a few people talked about the government affairs of the court for a while, they showed their true colors as literati again, and began to recite poems and play with flowers. After that, he was divided into Cao shooting, throwing pots, and playing the guqin to harmonize.

Entertainment among literati is incomprehensible to the laity.

……

The next day, the emperor held a banquet in Qionglin to entertain all the high school children.

The banquet was very lively, and the students were all dressed in gorgeous costumes and celebrated with crowns, and the scene was full of joy.

Before the emperor came, he talked about poetry and songs, and the musician played the ancient song "Deer Song"

Not long after, the emperor arrived, raised his glass to all the students with a glass of wine, and then said the arrangement for them: "Students, you are all pillars of the country, and you must make good contributions to the country in the future." ”

"After winning the Jinshi's move, I first gave each person a fish scale book, went to the southwest to survey the population, measured the land, and started from the bottom."

The previous two sessions of Enke Zhu Yuanzhang also did the same, first let those scholars go to the mountains and countryside to exercise, and familiarize themselves with the local folk customs. After three years, they were assigned official positions by the ministry, most of whom were county magistrates.

The scholars who have been trained in the countryside have significantly improved their ability to govern prefectures and counties, and many famous ministers have emerged among them.

"As for the 180 talents who were admitted, stay in the Hanlin Academy and follow Gao Qi and them to do things." Zhu Yuanzhang said again.

Jinshi went to the countryside, and Xiucai stayed in the Hanlin Academy as an editor?

Emperor Zhu's wave of operations made Liu Bowen Gao Qi unable to rectify again.

But they didn't dare to ask, so they could only do what the Holy Decree did.

After encouraging the students, Zhu Yuanzhang left with his subordinates. The imperial court held a Qionglin banquet, and the emperor would not accompany them to the banquet, and often just said a few words of encouragement and left.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Luo Guanzhong and Shi Nai'an separately in the imperial study: "You two are very close to Liu Bowen, Gao Qi, and Song Lian, which is both good and a little bad. ”

"May I ask the emperor, what do you mean by this?" Luo Guanzhong said that he couldn't understand it again.

"The two of you bought a house in the southwest, and you refer to it as students in the southwest, so you are now southwesterners." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "At present, in the whole country, only the southwest has implemented the integration of the gentry into the mu and the integration of errands and grain. ”

"Liu Bowen and Gao Qi are in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and these two new policies have not yet been implemented."

"The world is the world of the people, not the world of the Qingliu civil officials."

"Your Majesty, the minister understands." Luo Guanzhongdao.

"It's good to understand." Zhu Yuanzhang said, the drum does not need a heavy hammer, Luo Guanzhong is not only able to write, he still has a certain ability in terms of strategy, so Zhu Yuanzhang believes that he really understands.

"The edict of the two of you will be issued soon, Luo Guanzhong will go to the Ministry of Officials to be the waiter, and your student Li Zi'an will be the head of the Ministry of Officials. Shi Nai'an went to the Hanlin Academy to be an editor, so he helped Song Lian to repair the history of the Yuan Dynasty. ”