"Have you heard of the name Yang Yuanqing?"
Gu Jiu asked straight to the point.
Huang Qubing was young and was still wondering where he had heard this name, but Deng Cunli had already remembered it.
"I have heard of this person before."
Gu Jiu looked at Huang Qubing.
Huang Qubing also thought about it, "I have heard of this person, but I have never seen him."
Deng Cunli said, "I am honored to have met this man."
In the room, Gu Ting, the only one in a state of bewilderment, hurriedly asked, "Is Yang Yuanqing very powerful? How come you all know him?"
Gu Jiu gestured to Deng Cunli.
Deng Cunli bowed slightly and said softly, "Yang Yuanqing, a native of Jiangnan, is the only person in this dynasty to have achieved the title of Triple Crown Scholar: First Place, Second Place, and First Place. He is also the youngest person to have achieved the title of First Place Scholar since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu. At the age of twenty-four, he was personally selected by the late Emperor as the First Place Scholar."
"ah!"
Gu Ting was shocked and surprised. He was indeed a great figure.
"You are not talking about the Yang Yuanqing I know, right?" Gu Ting was still confused.
Huang Qubing asked excitedly, "Does General Gu know Yang Yuanqing?"
Gu Ting said in a daze: "I do know a man named Yang Yuanqing, but he is definitely not the Sanyuan Gong you are talking about."
Then he muttered quietly, "How could a dignified Sanyuan Gong end up in such a miserable state?"
Deng Cunli laughed upon hearing this. "To be precise, Yang Yuanqing was a Five Yuan official, and he topped both the county and prefectural exams. Only in the academy exam was he accused of misconduct because he slept in the exam room. To help him correct his attitude and learn his lesson, the academician deliberately ranked him second."
Later, Yang Yuanqing passed the imperial examinations for Jieyuan, Huiyuan, and Zhuangyuan, becoming the only scholar of the dynasty to achieve the title of "Three Yuan Gong." The academician, who had previously held the title of "Six Yuan Gong," was reduced to "Three Yuan Gong" due to his strict standards. This became a lifelong regret for the academician. "I remember that when Yang Yuanqing was in trouble, the academician personally intervened and advocated for him. Unfortunately, the late emperor's decision could not be changed by anyone."
This time even Gu Jiu was shocked, "So, Yang Yuanqing was originally supposed to be the Six Yuan Lord?"
"Exactly!"
Deng Cunli continued, "This man has been known for his talent since he was young. Yang's father was afraid that he would become arrogant and ignorant, so he kept him under control. He didn't let him go out to take the imperial examination until he turned eighteen.
After that, he won the imperial examination with ease. He was a household name during those years. Rumors of him spread across the country. General Gu, a student at the academy, should have heard of his deeds.
Gu Ting looked guilty and could only laugh.
When studying, everyone is busy slacking off and sleeping. Who would care about an unsuccessful Sanyuan Gong?
Gu Jiu asked, "Was Yang Yuanqing exiled to the northwest?"
Deng Cunli nodded and looked at Huang Qubing again.
Huang Qubing said hurriedly, "I do know a little about this. Yang Yuanqing was the top scholar in the eleventh year of Kaiyao. The late emperor admired him very much and personally called him a young talent. However, he was arrogant and conceited, and in his youthful arrogance, he even wrote a poem to ridicule the late emperor."
Later, he was implicated in a major treason case and was originally sentenced to beheading. However, the late emperor, out of pity for his talent, commuted his sentence to exile and pardoned him. The old scholar that General Gu met in the northwest is most likely Yang Yuanqing, the Third Grade Scholar.
Gu Ting was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.
He couldn't connect that dirty, down-and-out old man with the arrogant, suave and romantic Sanyuan Gong that people talked about.
"Just leave me alone."
He just felt sorry for the old scholar who had no proper job, so out of sympathy he introduced him to work at the express station.
There is a lot of writing work to do at the express delivery station, and the old scholar is just right for this.
Who would have thought that an old man picked out from a pile of rubbish would be a legendary figure in the literati circle and a big shot in the literary world.
It’s so incredible.
What luck he has.
Gu Jiu's eyes were shining, as if he had found a treasure.
She asked, "What is Yang Yuanqing's reputation among scholars?"
Deng Cunli was well aware of this, having lived through that era. "Many scholars sympathized with his plight. Back then, Yang Yuanqing published two collections of essays that were among the bestsellers in the scholarly community, with almost everyone owning a copy. Even when he got into trouble later, some took advantage of him, but many more spoke out on his behalf."
If he were still in the court, I can be sure that before he was thirty, he would have become the true leader of the Jiangnan literary world. His exile caused great losses to the Jiangnan literary world, and it was unable to recover for a long time.
After a pause, Deng Cunli whispered, "I'm going to say something extremely treasonous. The fundamental reason Yang Yuanqing was exiled was that he wrote poems that ridiculed the late emperor, and the late emperor held a grudge against him. It just so happened that the case of treason came up, and he was implicated in the case for a trumped-up reason."
On the surface, the late emperor didn't behead him, seemingly showing mercy. But he also issued a decree that no one should be pardoned. At the same time, local governments intentionally or unintentionally suppressed the Yang family. For many years, the Yang family has been unable to recover under the government's suppression.
Gu Jiu smiled knowingly, "I've long known that the late emperor was narrow-minded and fond of holding grudges. Yang Yuanqing was young and hot-headed, and he relied on his status to write poems and ridicule the late emperor. He was not unjustly exiled."
However, the late emperor was vehement, and exile alone was clearly not enough to quell his wrath. He refused to pardon the guilty and oppressed the Yang family simply to vent his anger. This was the late emperor's way of telling the world that he could raise a Three Yuan Duke, but he could also destroy him. This was the supreme power of the emperor. This was the fate of anyone who dared to oppose it.
After saying this, Gu Jiu's eyes swept over everyone's faces. "I plan to bring Yang Yuanqing back to the capital and hire him to teach at Shanhe Academy. What do you think?"
"this?"
Deng Cunli frowned, "His identity is a big problem."
Huang Qubing waved his folding fan. "He's very famous. If he's willing to teach at Shanhe Academy, Shanhe Academy will become world-famous in no time. Great, excellent! If anyone dares to slander Shanhe Academy for not having a famous teacher, I'll beat him up."
Gu Ting shook his head. "Wait a minute. He's exiled to the northwest. How can we get him back to the capital?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Of course it depends on an imperial edict from His Majesty."
Huang Qubing said hurriedly, "I can't do anything about this. I can collect the examination papers, but I'm really not capable of overturning Yang Yuanqing's verdict."
Gu Jiu said, "I'll figure out a way to deal with this. But first, we have to send someone to the northwest to officially confirm his identity. We don't want to end up with the wrong person, or we'll be in big trouble."
Huang Qubing said, "Confirming the identity is simple. We can send an official document to the northwest and ask the local authorities to cooperate, and it will be done. The difficult part is how do we convince His Majesty to overturn Yang Yuanqing's case?"
Yes, how to overturn Yang Yuanqing’s verdict?
Gu Jiu already had a preliminary idea in his mind, but it was not detailed enough.
This matter still depends on Liu Zhao's intervention.
Gu Jiu always kept in mind her identity: she was a businesswoman and the wife of a prince, and she only participated in business matters. She would never intervene in court affairs, official appointments and dismissals, and so on.
Gu Yu's appointment as the magistrate of Xinmin County was the only time she asked for an official position.
She knew very well that stretching one's hands too far was taboo.
Matters in the court should be resolved by Liu Zhao, which is justified.
Gu Jiu no longer had time to publish books to make money, so he hurried back to Xiaozhu with Gu Ting.
Liu Zhao was bored and was fishing in the yard.
Seeing her pulling Gu Ting back, he greeted her, "Let's have fish tonight. I caught the fish myself."
Gu Jiu stared at him with shining eyes.
Liu Zhao was startled, "Are you okay?"
Gu Jiu asked him excitedly, "Yang Yuanqing, do you know?"
Liu Zhao was confused at first, then he suddenly realized, and finally he looked incredulous.
"Three Yuan Gong Yang Yuanqing?"
Gu Jiu nodded heavily, his eyes were particularly bright, and there was clearly a light flashing in them.
Who is Yang Yuanqing?
Not only was he one of the Three Yuan Gong, but he was also the most outstanding talent in the imperial examinations of this era.
Other scholars had to bow down to him and call him "big boss".
Being able to recruit such a talent, Gu Jiu felt his heartbeat was abnormal. Too excited.
"He's not dead yet?" Liu Zhao asked in disbelief.
Gu Jiu laughed out loud, "He's not dead, he's still alive. He's currently working as a courier at a courier station."
Liu Zhao: “…” The express delivery station must be really awesome to allow Sanyuan Gong to work there and earn hard-earned money.
"Are you sure it's Yang Yuanqing, the Three Yuan Lord?"
"I'm planning to send someone to the northwest to confirm his identity. I want to use him and recruit him to teach at Shanhe Academy. Can you help him overturn the case?"
Liu Zhao blinked and looked at Gu Jiu in shock. "You actually want to use him? He's certainly famous, but he's also got himself into a lot of trouble. If you use him, Shanhe Academy won't have a peaceful life."
Back then, Yang Yuanqing had once made a stern statement: "Since ancient times, there has been no first in literature, and no second in martial arts. With him, Yang Yuanqing, the top spot in the literary world is no longer in dispute." This statement aroused the envy of countless people. When he got into trouble, so many people took advantage of him, which was inseparable from his outspokenness.
Gu Jiu said, "He was exiled for thirty years. No matter how wild and unruly he was, time has smoothed his edges. Brother, is the old scholar you know a man who is arrogant, conceited, and outspoken?"
Gu Ting shook his head repeatedly, "They are two completely different people. He just likes to drink and has a bit of a bad mouth, but otherwise he's pretty good."
Gu Jiu laughed. "Look, he's no longer the young and arrogant Yang Yuanqing of the past. He's now more mature and sophisticated. With his talent and literary reputation, it's worth it for us to overturn his case. Just name your price."
Gu Jiu looked like a wealthy man.
Liu Zhao frowned: What a trouble, what a trouble.
He really didn't want to take on this kind of trouble.
"This isn't a matter of money. Of course, it would be easier to pave the way with money. To get this done, there's someone who might be able to help."
"Who?" Gu Jiu asked curiously.
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Of course it's the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Lord Li."
The former Minister of the Court, Li, is now the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Although he does not hold the title of Prime Minister, he holds the power of a Prime Minister.
It would be most appropriate to let the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Lord Li, handle this matter.
At this moment, Lord Li, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, who was in the yamen, sneezed three times.
"Who is thinking about me?"
He rubbed his nose and felt a bad feeling in his heart.
Which bastard is plotting against him again?
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