The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 761 Five Coins
Jizhou, Yecheng.

Many famous people lived in Yecheng. When the Sima family was in power, Yecheng was almost like a large prison, imprisoning many royal family members of Cao Wei and potential hostile forces.

Of course, many celebrities also settled here.

Today's famous people are all eager to become officials. They are almost different from those who advocated seclusion in the mountains and enjoying the pastoral scenery in the past.

The famous scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties loved to hold various literary gatherings. To put it simply, they liked to gather together and brag.

This custom reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Ming, who disliked it and ordered its rectification.

It is simply because these people gather together, do not do serious work, but take medicine and drink, comment on people in the world, and bring bad influence to the entire literati atmosphere.

Well, that's why they held it in Yecheng instead of Luoyang.

I was just afraid of angering the emperor again.

This also prevented a large number of officials from participating. Even if the emperor intervened, it was an activity involving a group of commoners. Without the participation of court officials, it would not lead to severe punishment.

This literary gathering is more special than previous ones.

Every literary gathering is the best opportunity for celebrities to become famous.

Everyone will come up with various ways to gain fame. With fame, no matter what you do, it will go much more smoothly.

There are many ways to become famous.

Literary gatherings provide them with more opportunities to become famous.

This was Cao Qi's first visit to Yecheng. Accompanied by two good friends, they walked curiously on the country roads.

Their clothes were not ordinary, but definitely not luxurious either. Their carriages were also quite common. No matter how you looked at them, they were scholars of a certain status, different from ordinary people, but not too prominent either.

Cao Qi and others did not get on the carriage, but just followed behind the carriage, talking and laughing as they watched the scenes on both sides.

"This place is indeed different from Yongliang and other places."

"Look at this endless stretch of farmland. We've been walking for so long, and all we see along the way are these farmlands, countless farmlands."

The tree function is very exciting.

This was the first time he had seen such a large scale of farmland connected together. As he walked along, there were farmlands on both sides, and it seemed as if the farmlands had no end.

But Liu Hong was better off, as he had seen many similar scenes.

Cao Qi was not in a hurry to participate in the literary meeting. He traveled from Luoyang to Yecheng at a leisurely pace. He was always observing the places along the way, the local people, and the local officials.

He did not forget what his brother had told him to do.

As soon as I got here, I heard shouting from a distance.

Cao Qi and others looked over curiously.

There was a group of people in the distance, galloping on horseback.

Hearing their shouting, Cao Qi didn't want to cause any trouble and quickly made way.

Seeing that they were so tactful, those people did not stay and ran out.

Cao Qi and the others watched them leave. Shu Jineng couldn't help but curse, "What a bunch of playboys! They dare to ride their horses in the plowed fields. They really don't care about the law at all!"

Hearing his abuse, Cao Qi just shook his head. He led his two friends to the thatched cottage nearby.

In order to make farming more convenient, people usually build a simple hut next to their farmland for temporary residence.

Cao Qi stepped forward and asked, "Is anyone here?"

Just as he opened his mouth, he saw someone sticking his head out cautiously, "Of course there is someone here!"

He was a young and strong man. He looked at the three people in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then opened the door.

"I wonder what orders you three have?"

"I dare not, I just want to ask for saliva to eat."

The man completely relaxed and quickly invited the three people in.

Although the house was simple, it had everything you needed, and several wooden barrels were filled with clean water.

After thanking each other and drinking some water, Cao Qi took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the young man, building a closer rapport. He then asked, "Those horsemen were so rude just now. I wonder whose disciples they are?"

Hearing the question, the man's face suddenly became furious. He gritted his teeth and accused, "Whose family could it be? Of course it's the Pei family!!"

"Pei???"

Cao Qi was stunned, then looked at the two people beside him.

When I heard Pei and the others, I thought of someone. Is this person going to be in big trouble?
They asked cautiously, "Could it be the current governor?"

"Well, don't bother asking. They're just people you can't afford to offend. Are you planning to attend the literary gathering? Why aren't you heading into the city but are you staying here?"

"We have never been to Jizhou before, so we wanted to visit this countryside."

Cao Qi chatted with the young man for a long time until the young man was ready to go to the fields to work again. Only then did Cao Qi and others say goodbye and leave.

They got on the carriage and drove towards the city.

The scene inside the city was completely different. During these days, Yecheng had become extremely lively, with too many scholars coming and going.

The soldiers responsible for guarding the city gates only looked at the appearance and clothing of the people coming in. The soldiers were basically not questioned and were sent in directly.

Cao Qi and his men were sent in directly, and the soldiers were too lazy to ask about their origins.

"Sir, I think the current governor, although well-known, is not as good as the rumors say."

Shuji Neng narrowed his eyes and spoke.

Cao Qi's courtesy name was Bangshi, a play on the lines "Bang Zhi Yan Xi" from the Book of Songs. Pei Hui, the governor of Jizhou, was renowned throughout the land, and even Cao Mao himself had issued a decree praising him.

Shu Ji Neng, however, felt that he was somewhat unworthy of the reputation.

Cao Qi shook his head. "Some things are simply impossible to prevent. In fact, it's not easy to achieve this. In the past, these people would not have needed to go to remote areas to ride their horses. They could have ridden directly in the city, and no one would have dared to punish them."

Many soldiers can be seen everywhere in the city.

These people gathered in groups of three or four, and some were talking loudly about something.

The restaurants around were packed with people, all of whom were scholars from all over the place.

The actual organizer of this literary gathering was Pei Ji, the younger brother of the governor Pei Hui.

This also shows that this literary gathering has official participation.

Cao Qi and others found a restaurant and listened to the scholars around them discussing this matter.

"In my opinion, this is probably because of the school in Jizhou."

"I heard that in this imperial examination, almost no Jizhou scholars passed, especially the palace examination, where most of them failed!"

"And for the county and prefecture exams, the pass rate for Jizhou is surprisingly similar to that for Liangzhou!"

Everyone burst into laughter, but a few people from Jizhou blushed but were speechless.

When Shuji heard these words, he was immediately shocked. He looked at Cao Qi beside him and said, "Jizhou is so wealthy, how could it be similar to Liangzhou?"

Cao Qi shook his head. "I'm not very clear about this."

Listening to everyone's teasing, Shu Jineng couldn't help but laugh.

At this moment, a quarrel suddenly broke out nearby.

"This dish of yours was only 27 cents not long ago, why do you charge it for 32 cents today? Are you trying to take advantage of me because I've never been here?"

This immediately interrupted everyone's conversation, and everyone looked to the side in surprise, even Cao Qi was no exception.

I saw a man sitting at the desk, arguing seriously with the servant next to him.

The young servant looked at the man in front of him. He had a handsome appearance and was dressed in extraordinary clothes. He wanted to cry but had no tears.

"No, my dear, with so many people coming to Yecheng, many market prices have risen, and we have to follow suit. The prices of meat and vegetables are no longer the same as before. You..."

"That can't be raised that much, right? It's a full five cents! Isn't that just taking advantage of someone's misfortune?!"

This person was very angry.

The eyes of the scholars were almost all focused here, and the servant felt dizzy at the moment.

In his life, he had received all kinds of scholars, and even seen some go crazy and beat people, but he had never seen anyone who was so fussy about a few dollars.

Didn't you steal these clothes?
As the man continued to argue with the servant, someone said, "I'll pay for this man's meal."

The servant pursed his lips and looked at the guest.

Are all the scholars doing this these days?
It’s only five cents!

Otherwise I'll just pay you!

When you opened your mouth, I thought you were paying thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for someone!
Everyone also looked at the person who spoke, it was Cao Qi.

The poor scholar just now saw Cao Qi and shook his head, "How can I let you pay for my meal? I don't even know you!"

"I'm sorry I can't accept your kindness!"

Cao Qi laughed and said, "It's okay. I'm a bit short of money when I go out. I'll pay it back now. You can just pay it back later!"

"No."

The two began to pull each other again, but the servant couldn't stand it anymore.

Is this really necessary?
Cao Qi threw the money to the boy and then invited him, "If you don't mind, we can have dinner together!"

When the man saw that the servant had taken the money, he didn't want to continue arguing and stood up and walked over to Cao Qi and the others.

This person is not very old and looks like a famous person.

It's just this style.

Cao Qi looked at him, and a scene appeared in his mind: a poor scholar sold his property in order to participate in a literary meeting, came to Jizhou alone, but found that the money was not enough.

This set of clothes must have cost him all his money.

Poor man.

Cao Qi said seriously: "Your Excellency is a man of noble character and extraordinary qualities. You will surely achieve great things in the future!"

The man was stunned for a moment, then he sighed, "Alas, I'm afraid I can't."

Cao Qi frowned. "Being born in poverty is not a disgrace. How can a man be without ambition?"

"Don't be so depressed, Your Excellency. In today's peaceful times, there will be more and more opportunities for achievement and success in the future."

Cao Qi talked a lot to this person, who wanted to speak several times but couldn't find any opportunity.

“My family is not that poor.”

After Cao Qi had painted a big picture for the other party, this person spoke quietly.

Cao Qi was stunned, then nodded and said, "I can see that. So you need to be more ambitious!"

ps: My hands were broken yesterday, and I couldn’t even post the leave application in the scheduled time. Sorry, sorry.

(End of this chapter)