Sui and Tang Dynasties: Awakening the Supreme Skills at the Beginning

"any solution?"

The four of them looked at Qian Shu together, their eyes full of anticipation.

"I can ask Li Shutong, the governor of Chang'an, to suppress Cui Geng, and Liu Shuyue, the imperial censor, to contain Cui Hu, the prefect."

"Letting a fifth-rank imperial censor deal with Cui Hu, a fourth-rank official, is a brilliant move by the head of the court!"

"Ha ha!"

"Are you Li Yunqi?"

Lin Qiuhao suddenly interrupted at this time.

“It’s the students!”

Li Zhen bowed to Lin Qiuhao.

"The academy has helped you so much. How do you plan to repay the academy?"

Lin Qiuhao said with a smile.

"Please explain clearly, teacher?"

Li Zhen's heart moved, and he answered calmly.

"I heard that you are quite talented in poetry. How about this? If you write a poem that satisfies the four of us, I will let the Chang'an Ling and Zhishu Yushi help you through this difficult time."

Li Zhen didn't say anything and looked up at Qian Shu.

Qian Shu smiled slightly, "Li Shutong and Liu Shuyue are both serious students, and what he said is also what I meant."

Li Zhen had a slight smile on his face, and he felt both happy and nervous in his heart. Writing poetry was not difficult, but the key point was to write a poem that would satisfy the three great scholars.

Is this difficult?

It's so hard!

Isn't this forcing me to be a plagiarist again?

"Do you write poetry spontaneously or with a theme?"

The three great scholars' eyes lit up and they spoke in unison.

"Encourage learning!"

It is indeed impossible to write a poem casually, otherwise I would have become famous in Chang'an with my poems and essays.

But it’s no big deal, it’s just copying poems with a purpose.

The most famous work on encouraging learning is the masterpiece by Meng Jiao of the Tang Dynasty. Anyway, it is the early Tang Dynasty now and Meng Jiao has not yet been born, so it is not considered plagiarism if it is written now.

Thinking of this, Li Zhen bowed to Qian Shu and said, "My student is so humble. Please prepare the writing brush and ink, Master."

Qian Shu waved his hand, and a servant came forward to prepare writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.

Li Zhen stepped forward, holding a pen in one hand and rolling up his sleeves with the other, and finished a poem to encourage learning in an instant.

"When you strike a stone, there is fire."

"No strike, no smoke."

“People begin to know after they learn.”

“Not learning is unnatural.”

"Everything depends on your own luck."

"He must be more virtuous than me."

"Youth must be acted upon early."

"How can I stay young forever?"

After Li Zhen finished writing, he put down his pen and looked intently at the five-character poem on the rice paper, his face showing a little excitement.

There was a brief silence in the room. The four great scholars walked to the desk and stared at the words on the rice paper for a long time without saying a word.

"What a great poem! Yunqi is indeed a genius poet!"

Lin Qiuhao's loud high-five broke the silence in the room.

He looked extremely excited and had a new understanding of Li Zhen's talent.

Zhang Wenhan did not comment, but looked at Li Zhen with eyes full of admiration, as if the other party was a student he had always taught.

"The words are simple, but the meaning is profound. Youth must be used early, how can we stay young forever. Brother Yan Jin, do you still remember the scene when we were young students?"

Hu Guanru savored this poem encouraging learning and felt that it was incisive and profound.

Lin Qiuhao was stunned for a moment, as if recalling the scenes of his schooling when he was young, and said with regret.

"Isn't this what we were like back then? If we hadn't studied hard when we were young, we wouldn't have achieved success in our careers today!"

"Yunqi, was that wine in your hand just now?"

Qian Shu suddenly looked at the jar of wine by the door and asked.

"I thought that since you are a literary giant, you should like to drink. I happened to have brewed some wine, so I brought it for you to taste."

"You little brat, come on, what gifts do you bring?"

"Well, let me have a taste of Yunqi's feelings."

Qian Shu did not hide his love for Li Zhen at all.

"But since you brought a jar of wine, shouldn't I prepare a table of delicious food?"

Li Zhen sat opposite Qian Shu. "Students think that drinking is up to their mood. The type of wine is not important, and whether there are dishes is even less important. What is important is to drink with teachers and several great scholars. Having such company is enough!"

"Haha!" Qian Shu laughed, "Well said! Come on, everyone, have a drink!"

When Li Zhen heard Qian Shu's words, he stood up, broke the mud seal, and poured the cold wine into the glasses in front of the people.

Suddenly, a strong aroma of wine filled the inner room.

"It smells so good? What kind of wine is this?"

Several people were shocked and looked at Li Zhen in confusion.

"This wine is newly brewed by my students and is called Nectar and Jade Liquid."

"Really? Then I'm going to have a good taste of it."

As he spoke, Qian Shu picked up the wine glass, put it under his nose and sniffed it. The strong aroma of the wine made him tremble all over, and then he drank it all in one gulp.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! What a strong drink."

Qian Shu felt like his stomach was on fire, burning from his mouth all the way into his stomach.

After hearing what Qian Shu said, Lin Qiuhao and others couldn't help but pick up their wine glasses and drink them all.

"Cough cough!"

Zhang Wenhan was not paying attention for a moment and started coughing.

Although it is very strong, this wine is really good. After drinking a glass, my whole body feels warm and comfortable.

Qian Shu looked up at the servant boy and said, "Go tell the dean that I'm drinking here and ask him to ask the chef to cook a few dishes and bring them over. Keep it simple."

……

In the afternoon, Li Zhen went to Chang'an County Government with two handwritten letters from Lin Qiuhao.

After walking a short distance along Xuanwu Street and turning two corners, we arrived at the Chang'an County Government Office.

The entire county government office is a very regular square, facing north and south. There are two majestic stone lions on the left and right sides of the door, and there is a gatekeeper on each side of the gate.

Li Zhen walked up to a doorman and bowed, "Big brother, I am Li Zhen, a student from Bailu Academy, and I am here to ask to see the county magistrate, Lord Li. Please inform him."

The doorman looked Li Zhen up and down.

Li Zhen was wearing a coarse cloth gown with two patches on his shoulders and a pair of cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles.

You can tell at first glance that he is not a wealthy person.

The concierge curled his lips, widened his eyes, and scolded.

"Hey, kid, who is your elder brother? Open your dog eyes and take a look. This is the county government office. Is this a place where a peasant like you can just come? Get out of here right now!"

"That's right, that's right. Lord Li is the great judge of this county. How can a peasant like you see him whenever you want? Get out of here and don't spoil his fun!"

Another concierge added disdainfully.

Li Zhen couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Why are there such people who look down on others everywhere?

His face darkened and he said to the doorman coldly, "You two are responsible for delaying Lord Li's business."

The two doormen looked at Li Zhen and laughed.

"Who do you think you are, kid? How dare you scare us? Do you want to die?"

"Someone, get this guy out of here!"

The two gatekeepers were immediately angry and one of them shouted to call a few yamen runners over and was about to pick up a stick to beat the man.

The yamen runners raised their water and fire sticks and smashed them hard at Li Zhen.

Li Zhen's mind moved.

"Let's see if you, a filthy little man, dare to barge into the county government office again!"

The doorman raised his head proudly, with a look of disdain on his face.

Suddenly, there was a scream, and the water and fire stick turned a corner and hit the doorman hard.

"Ah! Ah!"

"You guys are blind, why are you hitting me? Go, hit him!"

The gatekeeper covered his head and got angry at several yamen runners.

The bailiff bowed to the gatekeeper and apologized repeatedly.

"Watch out, hit him!"

Another doorman pointed at Li Zhen and said to several yamen runners.

Li Zhen stood with his hands behind his back and his head held high.

The bailiff swung the water and fire stick again and smashed it hard on Li Zhen's head.

There was a "bang" sound.

I guess it will hit the target this time!

The bailiff was secretly pleased with himself.

Then, a cry of “Ouch” was heard from the doorman nearby.

"You two, are you blind? Why do you always hit me?"

The gatekeeper was furious, covering his head with his hands, and yelled at the two yamen runners.

"What's going on? You were clearly aiming at that guy?"

The bailiffs looked at each other in confusion.

"Come on, I'll do it this time, you two watch me!"

One yamen runner said to the other two yamen runners.

"Okay, Lao Zhang, keep your hands steady, you do it!"

Two yamen runners stepped forward and held Li Zhen, preventing him from moving.

Old Zhang opened his eyes wide, walked up to Li Zhen, raised the water and fire stick, and smashed it down heavily.

Li Zhen smiled coldly and had an idea.

"Ah!" A sound was heard, and the stick somehow fell on the doorman again.

"What's wrong with you guys? Are you blind?"

the concierge shouted angrily.

"This... this... I was clearly aiming at that kid, but somehow I ended up hitting you. I'm so sorry!"

……

While several people were arguing, a group of people walked out of the county government yard.

Among them was a man in a dark blue robe.

Judging from the man's appearance, he was probably about to go out.

"It's disgraceful to make such a fuss in front of the county government office!"

The man frowned and scolded coldly.

When several yamen runners and doormen looked up, they were so frightened that they dared not breathe. They stood by the door in panic, not daring to say a word.

"Who are you? How can this county government be a place for you to just wander around?"

The man shouted at Li Zhen with some anger.

Li Zhen was indignant and was about to retort when he heard a voice.

"Hey, boy, the county lord is here, why don't you come over and greet him?"

The visitor was Li Shutong, the magistrate of Chang'an County.

Li Zhen was delighted. County Master? Wasn't that the Li Shutong he was looking for?

Then he stepped forward and bowed.

"I am Li Zhen, a junior fellow student from Bailu Academy. I have come to see you on the orders of my teacher for important matters. However, the gatekeeper refused to allow me to see you and insisted on killing me. Please, Master Li..."

"Is this happening?"

Li Shutong's face darkened and he looked at the two shivering doormen with a cold gaze.

"Your Excellency, I didn't think that boy was a good person, so I didn't let him in."

A doorman trembled and stammered.

"How dare you! Who gave you the guts to drive my guests away without permission?" Uncle Li shook his sleeves and shouted sternly.

"Please spare my life, sir. I will never dare to do it again!"

Several doormen and yamen runners were pale as they knelt on the ground with trembling lips, and kowtowed to Uncle Li.

"Humph! Do you dare to do it again?"

Li Shutong shouted coldly.

"Come here, dismiss these gatekeepers and yamen runners, kick them out of the county yamen and never employ them again!"

"promise!"

Someone had already stepped forward and stripped off the official uniforms of the gatekeepers and yamen runners.

"Sir, I beg you, please let me go!"

Those people surrounded Li Shutong and kowtowed to him repeatedly.

Unlike officials, people like yamen runners and gatekeepers usually pass down their jobs from father to son. Many of them have been making a living from the yamen since childhood. Once they are kicked out of the yamen, they will lose their livelihood and immediately fall into poverty.

Li Shutong walked up to Li Zhen and said in a amiable manner.

"I wonder if this junior fellow apprentice is satisfied with my handling of the matter?"