Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"What a pity..." Li Bangyan sighed with deep emotion.

If he were still in the cabinet, he could easily flatter the emperor.

The achievement of conquering a country was enough for Li Bangyan to write dozens of poems to praise, and could even lead to the writing of a play specifically for the emperor.

Zhu Yu asked, "Have you not brought your grandchildren yet?"

Li Bangyan said, "We should be arriving in Hangzhou soon."

According to the newly promulgated "Great Ming Code" at the beginning of this year, children under the age of seven who are exiled with their parents can be redeemed by their families by paying a fine.

Upon receiving the news, Li Bangyan immediately sent someone to pay the fine and dispatched his trusted confidants to pick up the person.

Chapter 3388 Mathematical Genius

Just as the two were chatting, a student rushed in, panting, and said, "Professor Zhu, the imperial court has sent someone to recruit you, and the envoy has already arrived at the foot of the mountain!"

Zhu Yu asked, confused, "To recruit me?"

The student bowed and said, "Indeed. Professor Zhu is a man of great talent. The Emperor is already aware of this. Congratulations, Professor."

After the Yuan You Party Prohibitions, the Zhu family members were all dismissed from their posts and placed under house arrest, and none of them ever held office again.

Although Zhu Yu was no longer interested in an official career, being recruited by the emperor was a different story!

Zhu Yu slowly stood up and joked with Li Bangyan, "At a time like this, shouldn't we say: 'Laughing loudly, I stride out the door; how can I, a man of such talent, be a mere commoner?'"

Li Bangyan was filled with envy and stood up to bow, saying, "Congratulations, Brother Wu Huo."

Zhu Yu pointed at Li Bangyan and said, "You corrupt official, don't try to give me any money."

"I'm finally about to become an official, I can't let you drag me down with me."

Li Bangyan was both amused and exasperated; he had even planned to give Zhu Yu a "Bodhisattva's Charm" gift.

...

When Tu.

In a residential house on the outskirts of the city, Li Yaoguang was writing furiously.

He learned traditional arithmetic in his childhood and also studied the mathematical manuscripts left behind by Hu Shuxiu.

Later, I came across "The Way of the Way and Its Applications" and specifically studied the "Mathematics Chapter" within it, studying it quietly at home by myself.

Li Yaoguang does not communicate with any like-minded people, nor does he know the latest developments in mathematics, but he has already come up with dozens of formulas and theorems on his own.

"Take a break, you've been calculating all day."

Mother Yang Shu brought in tea and snacks.

Li Yaoguang said, "It's almost finished."

Yang Shu sighed, put down the tea and snacks, and left, gently closing the door behind her.

Thanks to the rescue efforts of his relatives and friends, Li Zhiyi, who was nearly eighty years old, was finally reunited with Yang Shu, a courtesan.

The couple, an older man and a younger woman, were the subject of gossip in Runzhou, so they moved to Dangtu.

But it was too conspicuous, because they not only had a son, but also an even younger daughter.

You read that right. After having a son at the age of seventy, Li Zhiyi soon had a daughter...

The family of four originally moved to Dangtu County, but they couldn't stand the gossip and rumors, so they went to the suburbs to buy a house and land.

Now, my daughter is married to a small businessman and is doing fairly well in her husband's family.

But her son was still unmarried in his twenties, which made Yang Shu extremely anxious.

She kept lowering her standards for marriage, but no family with any social standing was willing to accept her because everyone knew that Li Yaoguang was a bookworm.

A bookworm who never leaves his house, only knows how to read, never communicates with others, and never takes the imperial examinations.

The mother and son depended on each other for survival, but because they didn't own much land, they had no income.

To make ends meet, Yang Shu had no choice but to sell her deceased husband's collection of calligraphy and paintings. She didn't know how long she could endure such a life.

Back in her bedroom, Yang Shu took out her guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).

She gently stroked the strings, but dared not produce a sound.

Since her husband's death, she has never played the zither or sung again, for fear that others would gossip that she was a courtesan.

"Madam, madam..."

The maid pushed open the door and entered, forgetting even basic manners.

Yang Shu did not blame her, but asked, "What happened?"

The maid pointed outside: "An imperial envoy has arrived! The emperor has sent someone to recruit a young master!"

Yang Shu jumped up, clutching her zither, and asked, "What did you say?"

"The Emperor has sent someone to recruit a young master!" the maid said happily.

Yang Shu instructed, "Go quickly and call Sanlang out. Remember to change him into clean clothes."

She then searched through the money box and found that there wasn't much left, so she looked for her gold and silver jewelry.

But she also sold off a lot of gold and silver jewelry, leaving only a few exquisite pieces given to her by her late husband.

For her son's sake, she stuffed her remaining jewelry into her bosom and then called a servant to carry the money box out.

The official messenger had arrived in the courtyard, and Yang Shu pulled her son along to greet him.

When Li Yaoguang heard that he had been recruited, he was both excited and apprehensive.

He was a severe social phobia patient, even afraid to deal with scholars in the county, and had no idea how to deal with the emperor.

The mother and son went to the courtyard to pay their respects and welcomed the imperial officials into the main hall.

The servants were boiling water to make tea and serving dried fruit.

The messenger responsible for delivering the imperial edict was named Xu Du, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from the second cohort of the Ming Dynasty.

He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Madam, you are too kind. The Emperor has heard of your son's talent and has therefore sent me to recruit him to the capital."

"The Ming Dynasty does not have many of the empty rituals of the previous dynasty. Tonight, you should bathe and wash up, and refrain from eating garlic or other fishy foods."

"Tomorrow, put on clean clothes and you can receive the imperial decree."

"Thank you for the angel's protection,"

Yang Shu took out a gold hairpin.

"We have no surplus wealth, and the angels have traveled far and wide; we have nothing else to thank them for..."

Xu Du pushed the hairpin back and said with a wry smile, "My lady, please don't harm me."

"I was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and by chance I was able to stay in the cabinet to observe government affairs, and was later selected as a secretary in the Tongzhengyuan (Court of State Affairs)."

"As long as you work diligently, you can be directly appointed as a county magistrate after three years; but if you accept valuable gifts, your future will be ruined."

Judging from his career trajectory, he was clearly being groomed by the imperial court, and his promotion speed was faster than that of ordinary Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

Yang Shu was quite embarrassed that she couldn't give the gift.

Chapter 3389 Summoning Geniuses

Xu Du said, "If my wife is worried, you can prepare some food."

"It doesn't need to be too lavish, just some wine and meat will do. After receiving the imperial decree tomorrow, we'll host a banquet for the officials I brought with me."

"But do not send gold, silver or money, as this is a major taboo nowadays."

"Thank you for your guidance!" Yang Shu quickly bowed.

Li Yaoguang remained silent throughout. He actually knew how to deal with outsiders, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Gradually, he turned his thoughts back to the math problem, completely forgetting the mundane matters at hand.

Just as Xu Du and Yang Shu were talking, Li Yaoguang suddenly rushed out of the main hall and ran briskly towards the study.

This action completely stunned Xu Du: "What is your son doing...?"

Yang Shu said in a panic, "Angel, please calm your anger."

“My son is a fool. He’s probably thinking of something again and has gone to his study to study mathematics.”

"Hahahaha!"

Xu Du clapped his hands and laughed: "Your son is truly a wonderful person. His Majesty will surely be pleased to see him."

Just then, the daughter's husband's family suddenly came to the door, presumably having heard about the emperor's recruitment of officials.

The daughter and son-in-law, along with their in-laws and the son-in-law's brother, a total of more than ten people came to offer their congratulations.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yang Shu invited her father-in-law to the side and asked him to help with the house and land.

She would sell the property, give her in-laws a brokerage fee, and send the rest to the capital, where she and her son would move to Kaifeng.

The in-laws were naturally willing and even offered money to the officials, but Yang Shu stopped them and explained in detail.

The following day, an altar was set up, incense was burned, and the imperial edict was received. A banquet was held for the officials who delivered the edict.

Then, taking his important collection of books and calligraphy, he boarded an official boat and headed straight for Runzhou.

After boarding the ship, Xu Du asked, "I've heard that the Li family has two portraits. May I borrow them to take a look?"

"Angel, please wait!"

Yang Shu brought the portrait.

One painting depicts Su Shi, and the other Shen Kuo; both were painted by Li Zhiyi himself.

Moreover, it can be carried with it at all times, even when it is being transferred to another place, just like carrying photos of two good friends with it.

Xu Du carefully observed the painting for a while, then said in a low voice, "The Emperor wants to borrow it from the Hanlin Academy of Painting so that the painters there can make a copy."

"Madam, you may offer it up voluntarily. After making a copy, it will certainly be returned. The Emperor will not keep the original."

"Thank you for your guidance," Yang Shu said gratefully.

After arriving in Runzhou, they did not immediately head north, but waited for Zhu Yu and his group.

After waiting for half a month, Zhu Yu finally arrived.

The old man carried a large wooden box filled with geographical data of the southern provinces, as well as a lot of trivial information about overseas states.

An elderly person and a child traveled to Beijing together.

They weren't idle along the way either. Zhu Yu sorted through old documents in the cabin, while Li Yaoguang organized his mathematical research findings.

On their second day in Beijing, they entered the palace to meet the emperor.

When they met the emperor, Zhu Yu was calm and composed, while Li Yaoguang was uneasy and anxious.

"Sit down and talk,"

Zhao Yuan laughed,

These past few days, I've been reading "Talks on Pingzhou" whenever I have free time.

"Did the old gentleman once live in Huangzhou?"

"I dare not accept the title of 'sir',"

Zhu Yu cupped his hands and said,

"My father was falsely accused and demoted by Cai Jing because of his poetry. He was also accused of associating with Su Dongpo, and was dismissed from his post and exiled by the former Song Dynasty court."

"In the years that followed, my father was briefly reinstated, but was repeatedly demoted and eventually died far from home, unable to bear the hardships of travel."

“I followed my father wherever he was demoted, so I was able to experience the local customs and culture.”

"After my father passed away, I went to settle in Huangzhou."

Zhu Yu put it very euphemistically, probably because the clansmen were fighting over the family property. He was too lazy to bother with such things, so he simply took a share of the money and moved far away.

Zhao Yuan asked, "When I led my troops to capture Huangzhou, why did you run away?"

Zhu Yu replied awkwardly, "I'm afraid of suffering from the calamities of war."

"You don't want to stay in the rebels' territory, do you?"