White-robed Minister

0019 [Heading South to Guangzhou]

The barge carrying Qingyuan County's specialties finally departed from the Chengnan Wharf.

The journey to Guangzhou was relatively safe, and even escorting the officials was quite easy.

Xu Lai, Yang Shu, and Yu Shanyuan went into the cabin and never came out again.

At this very moment, Xu Lai is asking for help with his studies.

"You can't even read the pronunciation?" Yang Shu was speechless.

Xu Lai could only make up a story: "I know a little bit, even if it's just a small part."

Yang Shu looked at Yu Shanyuan, who laughed heartily.

Both of them had passed the imperial examinations and become scholars. It's hard to imagine what a boy who doesn't know how to read could possibly write when he barged into the examination hall.

It looks quite interesting.

Xu Lai said, "I would like to ask my two elder brothers to teach me to recite the Analects with a proper reading tone."

The two readily agreed.

However, the two scholars began arguing right from the very first sentence of the Analects…

Yang Shu interrupted Yu Shanyuan's recitation: "Brother Ti Ren, 'learning and practicing at the right time' should be read like this... Listen to me read: '习'. Although it is also an entering tone, the ending of the rhyme should not be so abrupt."

Yu Shanyuan, however, said, "The teachers at the prefectural school in Shaozhou studied in the same way as I did, and so did you, sir."

"Old Master Yu misread it," Yang Shu said.

"How do you know that Master Yu misread it? Master Yu has been an official in the capital for many years!"

"No matter how long he served as an official in the capital, he still misread it."

"impossible!"

"You and Master Yu really misread it."

"..."

Xu Lai sat in the middle, listening to their argument, glancing at one person and then at the other.

I don't know who to listen to.

The Mandarin spoken by Cantonese people... sigh!

In fact, the pronunciation of scholars from Guangdong during the Song Dynasty was more standard than that of scholars from Kaifeng, provided they had good teachers when they were young.

Because the pronunciation of Kaifeng dialect differs from that of classical Chinese, and often the differences are subtle and difficult to correct.

Xu Lai silently annotated the pronunciation of the character "习" for both of them using modern pinyin.

Yu Shanyuan's final consonant is -p, and Yang Shu's final consonant is -ʔ, but the pronunciation difference is not significant.

"Brothers, you won't get anywhere arguing like this. Let me go to the state school and study with the teachers there," Xu Lai said, trying to smooth things over.

There's really no point in arguing about it; even if you put the "Rhyme Dictionary of the Ministry of Rites" here, it won't make a difference.

Yu Shanyuan offered to step aside, saying, "I'll go to the deck and get some fresh air."

Yang Shu lay down and said, "I'm going to sleep for a while. If there's anything you don't understand, my dear brother, you can call me anytime."

One was enjoying the breeze, another was sleeping, leaving only Xu Lai sitting there reading.

Xu Lai had been reading the Analects with Commentary for less than a quarter of an hour when Yu Shanyuan returned to the cabin: "Brother, is there anything you don't understand?"

"I can understand it all, but there are some parts... I can't agree with," Xu said.

Yu Shanyuan immediately laughed: "My dear brother, you actually question the commentaries of great Confucian scholars throughout history?"

Xu Lai turned to a page and said, "Here, it says, 'A friend comes from afar.' How can the word 'friend' be interpreted as 'fellow students'? Does it mean we can only feel happy when fellow students come from afar? Can't we be happy if they aren't our fellow students?"

"Well……"

Yu Shanyuan was speechless; he didn't know how to refute it.

Yang Shu, who hadn't actually slept, sat up and said, "Interpreting 'peng' as 'fellow student' is He Yan's interpretation, citing Bao Xian's annotation. Bao Xian's interpretation wasn't original either; it came from Zheng Xuan's annotation of the 'Zhou Li'."

Yu Shanyuan was filled with admiration and quickly bowed, saying, "Jiezhi is very knowledgeable and learned. I have learned a lot from you."

Yang Shu said, "My family doesn't have many books, but one of my classmates has a library. I spent half a year in that library, reading all the time except for eating, drinking, and using the restroom."

Xu Lai, however, asked, "Is Zheng Xuan necessarily right? I think the character '朋' should be interpreted as 'kind,' that is, people who share the same views on a certain matter or thing."

Yang Shu frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "What you say, my brother, seems to make some sense."

Xu Lai then turned to another passage in the book: "I think the great Confucian scholars have also misinterpreted the phrase 'virtuous over beauty.' Connecting it to the following text, it must be an explanation of the way of husband and wife. That is, a husband should value his wife's virtue rather than her appearance."

Yu Shanyuan and Yang Shu leaned closer, repeatedly pondering Xu Lai's line of thought.

After an unknown amount of time, they looked up at the same time, exchanged a glance, and were utterly astonished.

Because what Xu said makes a lot of sense!

Yang Shu muttered to himself, "If this sentence is interpreted according to my brother's method, then it aligns perfectly with the discussions on human relations in the *I Ching*, the *Book of Rites*, and the *Mencius*. Does this mean that all the great Confucian scholars of the past were wrong, and that my brother is right?"

Yu Shanyuan stared intently at Xu Lai, as if he had seen a ghost: "Why don't you follow the wisdom of the ancients and instead offer your own wild interpretations?"

Xu Lai analyzed: "If we follow the commentary of the Analects, the logic doesn't make sense at all. Just now it was talking about abandoning lust and respecting the virtuous, and in the blink of an eye it's discussing how to treat parents, rulers, and friends. The context is disconnected! If we interpret it as treating one's wife, then it all makes sense; the whole passage is about the great principles of human relations."

Yang Shu and Yu Shanyuan didn't respond; Xu Lai had silenced them.

The two scholars were arrogant and self-important.

For them, the Analects was the most fundamental of all.

But a mountain village boy who had never formally attended school, after studying the Analects for less than half an hour, offered a new interpretation that left them speechless.

who am I?

Where am i?

What am I supposed to do?

After a long while, Yang Shucai said, "Although I have dropped out of school, I still keep in touch with the teachers at the state school. After I finish escorting the convoy and return to my hometown, I will go to the teachers to ask for their advice."

Xu Lai didn't end the conversation; he turned to another page: "And here..."

Yu Shanyuan and Yang Shu looked at each other, too afraid to listen any further, fearing that their years of hard work and dedication to the Dao would be shattered.

That afternoon.

Xu Lai continued reading "The Analects with Commentary," while the other two went to the deck for some fresh air.

Looking at the green mountains on both sides of the river that seemed to be opening up before him, Yu Shanyuan let out a long sigh and said, "It's a real pity about Xu Sanlang. If he had been born into a wealthy family and had studied from a young age, he probably could have participated in the prodigy examination."

"It's never too late to start studying," Yang Shu said.

Yu Shanyuan shook his head: "Sixteen years old (by Chinese reckoning) is already a bit late. His memory is definitely not as good as it was when he was young."

Yang Shu said, "With his current level of education, he probably won't be able to get into the prefectural school. After I return from escorting the tribute mission in Jiangxi, I will visit Sanlang in Qingxi Village and bring him to study at my Yang clan school."

"With the Yang family's financial support, he's extremely lucky," Yu Shanyuan said with a smile.

Yang Shu said, "If it weren't for Xu Sanlang pointing out the key point, I would still be watching from the ship. He has done a great favor for my Yang family, and we must repay this favor."

In fact, the Yang family of Jihua Township was not a powerful or prestigious clan; at most, they could be considered a large rural family.

The clan totaled about eight hundred people, and in order to avoid heavy labor, they split up as much as possible, and had long since been divided into several small groups.

The household with the most farmland only had a little over a thousand acres.

……

The boat moves along and stops frequently, sometimes even at night when it encounters calm waters.

In less than two days, they arrived outside Guangzhou. Instead of docking at the city's piers, they had the city's garrison open the sluice gates and sailed directly into the waterways of Guangzhou.

Ordinary fishing boats do not receive this treatment.

However, the boat carrying Xu Lai and his companions was transporting local specialties from Qingyuan County—silver ingots, copper coins, and iron ingots.

After landing in the city, they joined the military officer in charge of escorting them and headed towards the government office area to the north.

Yang Shu introduced along the way: "Sanlang, if you come to take the state school entrance exam, the Dizang Temple you just saw is the exam venue."

"Huh?" Xu Lai wondered if he had misheard.

Yang Shu laughed and said, "Even when taking the imperial examination, it was held at Dizang Temple. Guangzhou not only doesn't have a county school, but it also doesn't have a special examination hall. So we have to use Dizang Temple as the examination venue every time. I passed the imperial examination this year, and I wrote my essay on the incense table. I don't know which Buddha is usually worshipped on that incense table. Afterwards, I paid my respects to all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats in the temple."

Xu Lai: "..."

Is this supposed to be prosperous Guangzhou?

Xu Lai had already felt that Guangzhou was a terrible city after traveling all this way.

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Guangzhou consisted of four cities. In addition to the interconnected East City, West City, and Central City, there was also a South City across the Pearl River.

But at this moment, there is only one central city.

The most bustling commercial area in Xicheng still lacks city walls, with many commercial districts located outside the city walls. Eleven years ago, it was completely looted by Nong Zhigao.

Even Panyu County, which is attached to Guangzhou, does not have its county government located within the city walls...

"Those two gate towers are the Qinghai Navy gates from the late Tang Dynasty. More than ten years ago, the lintels were still inscribed with 'Qinghai Grand General's Office,' which the Southern Han emperor never dared to remove. Inside the gates used to be the Southern Han imperial palace, which was burned down by the Southern Han emperor."

Yang Shu explained to the crowd, "The foolish emperor of the Southern Han thought that the Song army was coming to plunder, so he burned down the palace and treasury himself, thinking that this would make the Song army retreat. It's simply unbelievable."

Yu Shanyuan laughed and said, "The foolish rulers of all dynasties always had thoughts and ideas that were different from ordinary people."

Yang Shu continued, "Now the twin towers have been replaced with twin gates, called the prefectural gates, and inside are all government offices. The military governor's office is at the very back, connected to the prefectural government office, and the maritime trade office is also next to it. This is because the military governor often concurrently serves as the prefect and the maritime trade commissioner."

The group passed through the state gate, and ahead lay a straight passageway.

Ancient trees lined the roadside, their chirping keeping the hustle and bustle of the city at bay.

The group presented their credentials and explained their purpose, and a minor official immediately led them inside.

After passing the screen wall, the ceremonial gate of the Nanhai County Government Office is in front of you.

The magistrate of Nanhai County lived there.

The official led them in from the side, and there was another door in front of them.

Inside the gate, on the halberd racks on both sides, stood fourteen vermilion halberds, gleaming coldly in the sunlight, exuding an awe-inspiring and menacing presence.

After passing through this area, the view suddenly opens up, revealing a courtyard ahead.

In the center of the courtyard was a bluestone path, with corridors on both the east and west sides, where the military advisors and clerks of Guangzhou worked.

Ahead is the main hall, which is the main hall of the prefectural government.

The official led them north along the east side corridor, and after passing the main hall, they came to another door.

Xu Lai was already feeling a little dizzy from walking...

At that time, a quarter of Guangzhou's urban area was designated as government office districts, with countless government offices of all kinds.

"You all need to wait here for your orders," the clerk reminded them, but did not leave immediately.

Yu Shanyuan understood immediately and took out a string of copper coins to stuff into the coin.

The clerk instantly put on a smiling face and stepped forward to the doorman, saying, "Father-in-law Chen, these gentlemen have important official business to discuss with the Grand Coordinator."

The doorman was a little old man who glanced at everyone but didn't say anything.

Yu Shanyuan shielded his view with his sleeve and quietly slipped something to the doorman. The doorman's eyes widened immediately, his expression a mixture of surprise and delight: "What important matter do you gentlemen have to discuss?"

Yu Shanyuan then said, "I am a staff member of Magistrate Shen of Qingyuan County. This is the yamen officer in charge of escorting the maritime trade, this is the military officer in charge of escorting the Qingyuan money shipment, and this is a righteous citizen who killed bandits to contribute to the cause. The maritime trade shipment was robbed by salt bandits in Qingyuan County, and we have important information to report to the General."

The gatekeeper, having already accepted a huge bribe, was obliged to help them relay the message. Hearing these words now, how could he dare hesitate even for a moment?

Before long, they were invited inside.

Xu Lai was slightly excited, as he was about to meet a historical figure in person.

Hopefully, Yu Jing won't let him down!