Chapter 41 Number One Scholar, can you read?
"We discussed it. Sincerely thinking of you, we can reluctantly give you a chance."
Huang Rong walked up to Huang Shang with a straight face and her hands behind her back: "However, if you don't live up to expectations and can't learn martial arts, there is no need to waste your time."
"This is natural."
Huang Shang nodded and said: "If the disciple is a foolish person, he will naturally have no shame in wasting the master's energy and performing futile and useless achievements."
"Wait a minute! Master, don't shout in a hurry, you still need to make your words clear first."
Huang Rong raised her neck, shook her head and said: "Although my teacher looks elegant and graceful, in fact, my teacher is born as a girl. Now... I am now twenty-eight years old. If you don't care in your heart, you might as well leave early."
"It doesn't matter. My husband Xiang Huisheng became Confucius' teacher at the age of seven, and Gan Luo became the prime minister of Qin at the age of twelve. In ancient times, there is no predecessor or successor in learning, and those who are masters come first."
Huang Shang said with a smile: "My disciple once asked Master Yi An for advice on the art of poetry, but he never differentiated between men and women."
"Are you so calm?" Huang Rong snorted: "Have you seen it a long time ago?"
"I am not a talented disciple, but I have seen a few strange people."
Huang Shang said calmly: "The Dao Zang also records some techniques of disguise and alchemy, and the disciple knows a little bit about it."
"Well, I forgot, those Taoist priests really do a lot of research on this."
Huang Rong waved her hand: "Just see it if you can see it. Just don't talk nonsense to others."
"Disciples don't dare."
Huang Shang hesitated for a moment and pointed to Lin Xuan, who was standing aside and watching the excitement: "Master, is he not considered a bystander?"
Lin Xuan: "..."
"Of course he doesn't count... huh?"
Huang Rong almost exploded: "You! What did you just say!"
"Did the disciple make a mistake?"
Huang Shang shrank his neck and said, "This disciple is speaking carelessly. Please forgive me, Master."
"..."
Huang Rong was startled, and said with a face: "I told you that I won't take you as a disciple, why are you calling me nonsense? You don't even have a master, so where can you get a master?"
"...I am old and ignorant, and do not understand the truth. Please forgive me, Master Huang."
Huang Shang's eyes moved back and forth between the two people, as if he understood something, and he honestly admitted his mistake.
"Well, that's pretty much it."
Seeing that her words worked, Huang Rong was secretly proud: "I will test you on some things later. If you are up to par, I will accept you as an outer disciple. It won't be too late to call you master when the time comes."
"Then please let Chief Huang consider it."
"There's no rush. When we get into the stronghold later, I'll find a secluded place to tell you."
Huang Rong's eyes rolled: "Speaking of which, our village does not support idlers. Do you have any skills?"
"this……"
Huang Shang obviously hadn't thought about this problem, and his face froze slightly, seeming a little embarrassed.
"That's all. I just heard that your conversation was pretty good, and you were once an official. So you should have read some books, right?"
"Uh..., I participated in the palace examination in the fifth year of Yuanfeng, and was lucky enough to be selected as the number one scholar by Emperor Shenzong."
Huang Shang stretched out his hand and twirled his beard, and said with a smile: "I am still serving as a bachelor of Duanming Palace, a third-grade Hanlin bachelor, which is barely a noble position."
"Eh? You are still a top scholar..."
Huang Rong nodded: "Yes, so you are literate?"
"This..., I guess I know a little bit."
This is a pretty good question.
Huang Shang was stunned for a moment, feeling unspeakably awkward in his heart, so he could only nod his head blankly.
He thought about it. If he remembered correctly, the last time someone asked him this question, he had just turned seven...
Now, just turned seventy.
There is a sense of fate and reincarnation that makes people live in grass.
"Very good, just know how to read."
Huang Rong's face was full of smile: "Our village needs talents like you."
"...Please also ask Master Huang to make it clear."
"Everything else about our copycat village is fine, except that there are too many bosses and roughnecks. They are ignorant and incompetent all day long, but they are still proud of it."
"What did you mean by what you just said? Oh, yes! It's insulting to politeness!"
Huang Rong smiled like a little fox: "Look, you know a lot and speak nicely, so this matter is your responsibility."
"This..., what exactly is this old man responsible for?"
Huang Shang became more and more confused as he listened, and couldn't help but ask.
"Of course it's to teach the rough people on the mountain to read and write. Isn't it a great sense of accomplishment to turn them from rough to literate?"
"Well, yes, especially that fat monk named Lu Zhishen, he should read more."
Huang Rong said sweetly: "The Master said: 'There is no distinction between teachings.' This is the words of a sage."
"...I am willing to teach people how to read and calligraphy."
Huang Shang looked helpless: "But these heroes won't listen to me."
"Why do you practice martial arts?"
"ah?"
"Although I haven't read as much as you, I also know that when Confucius traveled around the world, he brought three thousand strong men with him, holding swords and shaking fists to convince people with his virtue."
"If someone refuses to listen to your saint, just beat him down."
"Our copycat is actually the same way."
Huang Rong smiled and said, "It's just right. I can also use this to test your martial arts progress. It can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone."
"This is more than just killing two birds with one stone, it's simply a matter of death..."
Huang Shang thought about it for a long time and sighed: "Since the leader of Huang Village has said so, let me give it a try..."
"Very good, you go up first and wait for me in the village hall."
Huang Rong raised her lips: "I will teach you martial arts later. After you learn for ten days or so, you can teach those rough people to read."
"Thank you, Mr. Huang."
Huang Shang bent down slightly, leaned on his crutches, and walked up the mountain with a heavy heart.
"Mr. Lin, I am still very competent as the second in command, right?"
Huang Rong smiled: "A few words will make everyone feel fulfilled."
"You are more or less retaliating..."
Lin Xuan was speechless and stretched out his hand to pinch Huang Rong's nose.
"No retaliation, I am a champion after all, it should be more than enough to teach a village of bandits, right?"
"That's more than enough..."
Lin Xuan shook his head slightly: "However, the ability required here is not at the level of knowledge, right?"
Lin Xuan remembered that Huang Shang in history was indeed the champion.
However, Huang Shang's champion was a bit lucky, and the gold content was not too high.
Although he entered the palace examination, his essay was only ranked fifth.
He was one of the few who barely made it to the provincial exam.
But Song Shenzong saw that Huang Shang was right, and he wanted to disgust the examiners, so he directly appointed Huang Shang as the top scholar.
If the emperor hadn't appointed him, Huang Shang would probably have been just an ordinary official.
It can't be said that the examiners were not good enough to tell whether the essay was good or not.
After all, the chief examiner was Zeng Gong, one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties.
Among the examiners, there was also Lu You's grandfather Lu Dian.
If these people couldn't tell whether the essay was good or not...
Then there were few people in the world who could see it clearly.
Therefore, Lin Xuan felt that it was probably because Huang Shang's own level was not that outstanding.
He was a relatively weak top scholar.
However, at most two or three hundred people could enter the palace exam.
The imperial examination was held every three years, and three years of talents were accumulated.
On average, it was equivalent to the top 100 in the national college entrance examination.
Top three in the province!
If you can really get such a score, you can easily enter famous schools such as Tsinghua University and Peking University.
Maybe, after discussing with the school, I can open a backdoor for my girlfriend.
So, no matter how bad the champion is, he is still a top academic god.
It is extremely extravagant to use it to teach a group of bandits.
"The main thing is to let this old man understand that the world is dangerous and learning martial arts is actually useless."
"Don't really think that you can turn the tide just because you have some skills, and then have some unrealistic fantasies."
Huang Rong raised her eyebrows slightly: "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on him, so that he won't really get beaten up at his age."
"If you have this purpose, it makes sense."
Lin Xuan nodded: "Then let's do it."
"Well, by the way, don't let that master think about it."
"What to think about?"
"... Nothing."