Chapter 87: Children Travel Thousands of Miles Away
Listening to Shen Yichen's answer, Lin Zhen also knew the character of his disciple, who was indeed a mature young man. He should know the ways of the world and would not make any big mistakes.
After nodding, perhaps the names mentioned reminded Lin Zhen of some old memories, and he couldn't help but sigh: "I remember the top three of my fellow Fujianese back then. It's a pity for Brother Gong."
The top three in Fujian mentioned by Lin Zhen refer to the top three in the first class of his Gengxu exam, all of whom were from Fujian.
They are the top scholar Lin Zhen from Changtai, Fujian, the second place Gong Qi from Jian'an, Fujian, and the third place Lin Wen from Putian, Fujian. The third place Lin Wen's name is Hengjian.
It was very rare for fellow townsmen to take the top three places in an imperial examination in ancient times, even rarer than winning three first prizes in a row. In the thousands of years of imperial examinations, this has only happened twice.
In ancient times, fellow townsmen were not the same as the modern term "fellow villagers". You should know that among the four great joys in life, meeting an old friend in a foreign land can be listed as one of them. There are various township parties and hometown associations inside and outside the court. Having many fellow townsmen will be a great help.
In the imperial examination, being of the same year and from the same hometown is equivalent to a natural political alliance. This is why Lin Zhen is still highly respected after resigning from office, not only because of his status as the top scholar, but also because he has connections in the court!
It's a pity that Gong Qi, the runner-up in the Gengxu exam, was implicated in a scandal and was demoted to a commoner, so Lin Zhen had that sigh at the end.
Shen Yichen had no right to interrupt the teacher when he was reminiscing about the glorious past. He could only listen quietly.
After releasing his emotions, Lin Zhen may have realized that it was not a good idea to say these things in front of the students.
So he smiled and said, "Yi Chen, I don't have anything else to tell you. I just hope you can win the first prize in the future."
"Thank you, sir. I will not let you down."
After saying goodbye to Lin Zhen, walking on the streets of Yingtian Prefecture, Shen Yichen suddenly felt empty in his heart, and was confused about the future direction.
I don’t know if it was the right choice to make such a hasty decision to get involved in the power vortex of the capital.
When I returned home, besides Shen, there were also Aunt Yang from next door and Zeng Aniu standing in the courtyard.
Seeing Shen Yichen coming back, Aunt Yang immediately went to greet him and said, "Yichen, I heard that you are going to the capital. The journey is long and arduous, so let Aniu accompany you so that he can take care of you."
Hearing Aunt Yang's words, Shen Yichen felt helpless. It seemed that this aunt had not forgotten to ask for his help.
To be honest, in ancient times, it was very common for scholars to travel far away and bring three or two page boys, followers, bodyguards, etc. with them.
However, Shen Yichen had the thinking of later generations after all. He had never experienced a life of having everything provided for him. He was also not used to the class divisions in ancient times, which divided people into different classes and treated servants and slaves like cattle and horses.
Therefore, he has always been self-reliant and done his own things. Even though he has become a scholar and is not short of money now, he has never thought of hiring two people to serve him.
Even this time when going to the capital, Shen Yichen only planned to travel alone and travel light.
"Aunt Yang, we were in such a rush to go to the capital that we didn't even consider where to stay. It's not convenient to bring Ah Niu with us."
Shen Yichen's statement was a tactful refusal, but he also told the truth.
Going to the capital was something that was not planned. I had to just take it one step at a time. I hadn't even prepared properly, so how could I bring someone with me?
"Chen'er, this journey is long, it's better to let Aniu come with you, one more person means one more person to look after you."
Shen stepped in to persuade the boy, saying that although her son was a descendant of a military general, he had studied literature since childhood and had never practiced martial arts.
It's a journey of thousands of miles from Yingtian to the capital. How can people trust a weak scholar?
Zeng Aniu has grown up in my eyes. He has an honest character, is strong and knows martial arts. I feel more at ease when he accompanies Shen Yichen to the capital.
"Yes, Yichen. It is said that there have been miners causing trouble in Fujian and Zhejiang. In addition, there were floods in Suzhou and Songjiang this year. This trip may not be peaceful."
"Having Aniu go with you will give you an extra helper when you encounter problems."
If it comes to simple care, Shen Yichen really doesn't need it, but Aunt Yang's words of disapproval did serve as a reminder to him.
Since the end of the Hongwu reign, many silver mines were opened in Zhejiang and Fujian. In the early years, the silver mines required a lot of labor but produced little, so the mining tax was set very low, so that the miners could live with a light burden.
As a result, during the Yongle period, mining taxes increased sharply, almost tenfold compared to the end of the Hongwu period, and local miners suffered terribly.
The miners had already been squeezed to the limit, but in order to squeeze out more silver during the Zhengtong period, taxes were increased again to exploit the miners. At this point, there was no way out, and small-scale uprisings continued to occur among miners in Fujian and Zhejiang.
By the ninth year of the Zhengtong reign, the small-scale uprising had turned into a large-scale uprising, involving not only miners but poor peasants from the surrounding areas.
The uprising swept across Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and lasted until the 14th year of the Zhengtong period, when it was completely suppressed and eradicated. The fight lasted for a full five years.
Now, in the ninth year of Zhengtong, it was the eve of a large-scale uprising of miners in the southeast. In theory, it was still safe to go north along the canal from Yingtian. However, at this moment, Suzhou and Songjiang (Shanghai ) happened to be flooded, and the number of refugees in the surrounding areas increased greatly, which also became an unstable factor.
Shen Yichen's current physical fitness can only be said to be pretty good due to his youth, but if he really encounters a crisis, he doesn't have the ability to fight ten people at once.
If we bring Ah Niu with us, with his martial arts skills, we can at least find a way to escape.
"Okay then Aunt Yang, let Aniu go back and prepare the luggage. I will leave soon."
Hearing Shen Yichen's agreement, Aunt Yang immediately smiled and said, "Everything is ready, we can set off at any time."
"By the way, Yichen, have you contacted the boatman?"
“No contact yet.”
"Then let Ah Niu do it. He is familiar with this area."
At this time, Zeng Aniu also patted his chest and replied: "Master Shen, don't worry, I, Aniu, know a lot of people, and I guarantee that everything will be done properly."
Mr. Shen?
When Shen Yichen first heard this name, he felt speechless. What the hell is this?
"Aniu, just call me Yichen . I'm not used to hearing that, Mr. Shen."
"No, mother said that you are now a scholar, so you should call him Master Shen when you go out."
Zeng Aniu replied very straightforwardly. In their eyes, scholars already had a high status, and now Shen Yichen had become the top scholar, and was even a high and mighty master. He didn't dare to call him that.
"I have the final say on this. Just call it what you used to call it."
"Okay, Yichen."
Zeng Aniu grinned. Actually, he was not used to calling him "Master", so it would be better to just call him by the name he used when he was a child.
"By the way, let's charter a ship directly to the capital. It doesn't matter if the price is a little higher."
After saying that, Shen Yichen took out two silver ingots from his pocket and handed them to Aniu. He didn't know how much it would cost to charter a boat, but this should be enough.
"Yichen, I'll do it."
Zeng Aniu was not so cunning. After taking the silver ingot, he ran out of the yard.
Seeing that her son had gone out to do things, Aunt Yang said tactfully, "Then Yichen, I'll be going back first. Just call me if you need anything."
"Take care, Aunt Yang."
After watching Aunt Yang walk away, Shen came over and said, "Chen'er, I have packed all the luggage. Have you said goodbye to your mentor?"
"I've seen it all. You can leave anytime."
"That's good."
Shen nodded and reached out to help Shen Yichen tidy up his clothes.
When she received the letter from Duke Chengguo, she wished she could let her son meet the duke immediately. Now that she was sure that Shen Yichen was really going on a long journey, the reluctance in her heart surged again.
Looking at Shen's actions, Shen Yichen understood what his mother was thinking at the moment.
He pretended to be relaxed and replied: "Mom, you don't have to worry too much. After all, I have a supporter in the capital, the Duke, so it's not that bad."
To be honest, there is nothing wrong with what Shen Yichen said, regardless of whether Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong has any feelings or what his intentions are.
At least now he has no intention of giving up his adopted son, and he will definitely take care of him when he arrives in the capital.
Most people don’t have the backing of the top duke of the Ming Dynasty.
On the other hand, Zeng Aniu worked very quickly. In just half an hour, he had found a reliable boatman.
It is indeed convenient to have someone running errands. Now Shen Yichen also understands why people with a little status in ancient times liked to shout and yell with a large group of followers...
Since things progressed much faster than Shen Yichen had expected, the trip that was originally planned to depart in about three days was accelerated to the next day.
The main reason was that Shen Yichen was worried that some accidents might occur on the road and delay the journey. After all, with the speed of transportation in ancient times, you never knew what strange things might happen on the road, so you could only reserve enough time.
Early in the morning, Shen Yichen had already packed his bags. Seeing her son getting ready to leave home, Shen couldn't help but burst into tears.
Shen Yichen considered himself not to be a pretentious person, and he did not feel much when he was preparing to leave home. However, after seeing this scene of his mother, he felt a lump in his throat and his eyes instantly turned red.
"Mother, take good care of yourself after I go to the capital. Now that you have money, you can find two maids to help at home. If there is anything, go to the post station and inform me with an expedited letter."
"If it's really urgent, go to Zhaowen Academy to find my teacher, Mr. Lin. He will help you."
The last thing Shen Yichen did when he visited Lin Zhen was to ask him to look after his mother.
Because the "gift-giving" incident of Mrs. Lin from Duke Chengguo's Mansion has never been completely resolved, and as it had not been related to Duke Chengguo before, the other party might have been able to tolerate it.
Now that he was going to the capital in response to Zhu Yong's letter, Lin would probably find out soon. Shen Yichen was worried that it would be detrimental to his mother, so he had to keep a backup plan in place.
With teacher Lin Zhen's care, I will feel much more at ease.
"Uh-huh."
Shen was speechless at the moment, tears gushed out like a dam breaking, and she could only nod in response.
"Mom, just stay in the yard and don't see me off. I'm leaving."
After saying this, Shen Yichen became ruthless, turned around and called Zeng Aniu who was waiting, then left without looking back.
But soon a slightly salty taste appeared at the corners of my mouth, and I couldn't help it in the end.
At this moment, Shen once again made Shen Yichen feel what it means for a mother to worry about her child even when he is far away.
