gnovel Chapter 60 Becoming an Apprentice
Chapter 60 Becoming an Apprentice
Wei Zheng had a terrible headache at the time, so he grabbed his wrist and led him to the study, took some yellow paper from the bookshelf, and poured water into the inkstone.
While grinding the ink, he asked eagerly, "What is the name of this poem?"
Shen Ce had already kowtowed a hundred times to Meng Jiao in his heart, begging him to forgive him for publishing the poem a hundred years ahead of schedule.
The poem was originally titled "After Passing the Imperial Examination," which is definitely not suitable for this context. He frowned, grinned, and said, "It is titled 'After Pacifying Shandong.'"
Wen Wuyin took a paperweight, flattened the yellow paper on the table, and hurriedly said, "Brother Shen, I didn't hear clearly just now, please write this down."
Shen Ce laughed and said it was a small matter. With that, he flicked his sleeve, took out a charcoal pencil from the side, and quickly wrote down "After Passing the Imperial Examination".
Wei Zheng picked up the yellow paper, forcing himself to suppress his discomfort, and recited the poem twice more, swaying his head as he did so.
For a moment, I was puzzled by my own talent for writing poetry. Could this be something that one could learn without a teacher?
He was originally a squad leader in the army, and only after making meritorious contributions did he become a civil official. It has only been a few months since then.
Could it be that it was Yuwen Zhanshi who taught him? Or was it Cheng Zhijie?
He was filled with doubts, and it was inconvenient to ask Wen Wuyin since he was present. Looking at the beautiful poem written with charcoal, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
He was furious that the ink he had spent half the day grinding was not used and instead a charcoal pencil was used. He said, "Who doesn't use a brush to write? Why use a charcoal pencil instead?"
Before she finished speaking, she threw Shen Ce's charcoal pencil aside, her eyes showing considerable disdain. How could someone who could write such poetry use charcoal pencils? It was like taking a bite of a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) only to find that it contained strawberries.
Shen Ce smiled awkwardly, picked up the charcoal pencil from the ground, and said in a serious tone, "Lord Wei, when I was young, my family was poor and we couldn't afford a set of writing utensils like brush, ink, paper and inkstone. I could only use tree branches and the like to doodle in the sand. When I got older, I joined the army and didn't have the time to practice calligraphy."
After Shen Ce finished speaking, he looked at Wei Zheng with a resentful expression, his eyes filled with a sense of grievance.
Although what he just said was true, it didn't match the erudition he displayed, so he had to resort to this method to divert attention...
Wei Zheng fell into deep thought. Perhaps he had also come to enjoy a good life and had forgotten the days when he secretly used the oil lamp of the Taoist temple to study when he was young. He felt ashamed for a moment.
He said to Shen Ce with an apologetic look, "I was presumptuous."
Then he picked up the poem Shen Ce had written with charcoal and pondered it carefully. After a long while, he folded the paper and tucked it into his robes. Although
Which text did you learn in the village school?
This put Shen Ce in a dilemma. He had just blurted out a famous ancient poem on a whim, but... he didn't know it was a famous ancient poem.
Someone with such a high level of poetry skills couldn't possibly be illiterate.
As for himself, he had studied the Thousand Character Classic, the Analects, and the Book of Poetry, which he had learned in Chinese class, but it was completely different from what he had learned in the Tang Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, scholars were required to study commentary. For example, a student in the Mingjing examination could write tens of thousands of words of commentary on a single phrase like "to learn and practice what one has learned," while the other could only offer a few words of explanation...
After struggling for a long time, he truthfully replied, still relying on his previous life's learning level:
"When I was young, I studied the *Jijiupian*, and I have thoroughly read the *Classic of Filial Piety* and the *Analects*..."
Recalling his previous display of exceptional historical knowledge, he quickly added, "I've also thoroughly read Kong Anguo's 'Shangshu' and Du Yu's 'Zuozhuan'."
After saying that, he looked at Wei Zheng with a fearless expression.
"Absurd!" Wei Zheng cursed angrily, slamming his hand on the table. "In this world, how can one learn literature by simply reading it fluently? The village schools are misleading the students."
Shen Ce quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice, "When I was young, I had to help with farm work after school, so my studies were sporadic. Please forgive me, Lord Wei."
Although Wei Zheng was still somewhat skeptical upon hearing this, he decided to let the matter drop for the time being.
"Alright, there's still some time before we return to Chang'an. Starting tomorrow, you will study the Analects with me. In the future, when you have nothing to do, study the texts in the morning and practice calligraphy in the afternoon and evening."
Shen Ce was taken aback, and blurted out, "Then what about the mission's work?"
Wei Zheng snorted coldly and sneered, "Without you, Butcher Shen, am I supposed to eat pigs with hair on? I'll give all your work to Wen Wuyin! He's just idling around anyway, so let him do it."
Wen Wuyin: ? ? ?
Seeing his reluctance, Wei Zheng pushed the writing brush on the table in front of him and said with a smile, "Come on, as long as you write a poem that is better than his, this matter will be over."
After reviewing "After Pacifying Shandong" in his mind once more, Wen Wuyin sighed, cupped his hands, and said, "I'm afraid I don't have the ability. I will obey your command."
Shen Ce was still pleasantly surprised when he came out of the study. Although he had already caught Li Er's eye and was sure to rise to prominence in the future, no one can ever have too much knowledge. To have the great scholar Wei Zheng teach him was something he couldn't ask for.
As Shen Ce pondered this, he began to have wicked thoughts. Since Wei Zheng was willing to teach him, he was naturally going to be his mentor. Since Wei Zheng was willing to teach him, he would definitely have to give him a proper title.
The saying goes, "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles." At that time in the Tang Dynasty, books were not yet bound in thread, but rather rolled up like scrolls.
When discussing the Analects during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Zheng Xuan's commentary on the Analects is naturally the most prominent. Shen Ce thought for a moment and remembered that it should have ten volumes.
They immediately borrowed Wen Wuyin's prized horse and went to the bookstore in the city to buy the books. The journey wasn't far; a fast horse would arrive in half an hour. Without a word, they each bought a set, a total of twenty volumes, and stuffed them into the horse's saddlebag.
In addition to books, Shen Ce also bought five pieces of dried venison, three bolts of silk, and a pot of wine.
This is similar to the four gifts presented when proposing marriage in later generations; they are all just tokens. It's just that time was short, and they couldn't find a cow that had been killed by a fall. Otherwise, the beef from that cow would have made into jerky, which would have been the finest gift for a bride price.
Late at night, Shen Ce
Pushing open the door, he saw that Wen Wuyin's room was still lit, so he tiptoed over.
Pressing against the doors and windows, all that could be heard was the rustling sound of pages turning inside, quite loud in the quiet night.
Shen Ce listened intently and vaguely heard, "How can he be so good at pretending? Why can't I write such beautiful verses?"
The next morning, before dawn.
Shen Ce changed out of his official robes and put on a blue-collared robe. He wore a black turban on his head and a leather belt around his waist. To anyone who looked at him, he looked like a fine young scholar.
Pushing aside the guards who wanted to help, a man carrying twenty scrolls of books, three bolts of silk, dried meat, and wine pushed open the door to the study.
Wei Zheng arrived earlier than he had anticipated. Their eyes met, and he paid no attention to Wei Zheng's surprised expression.
He respectfully placed the wrapped dried meat on the table and stuffed three bolts of silk into Wei Zheng's arms.