Chapter 1030: Old Bao

There was quite a bit of love-hate relationship between Ouyang Xiu and Bao Zheng.

The friendship between the two was very good in the early days, but later, when both became high-ranking officials, they began to disagree because their political views were different.

Old Bao was a reformer, and Ouyang Xiu was considered a conservative. But Ouyang Xiu's conservatism was not thorough. He believed that reform should not be impatient and should not be too fierce. At the same time, he had a very good relationship with the reformers.

It was as if he spoke for Fan Zhongyan and was driven out of the center together.

This led to the conservative faction not being heart-to-heart with Ouyang Xiu either. It made Ouyang Xiu neither on the same path as the reformers nor able to play with the conservatives. Even when he was prime minister, he only made some literary reforms. More of it was maintaining stability and balancing the court situation, without introducing any new policies.

Therefore, Ouyang Xiu's greatest achievement was in literature, as well as other classics, history, and epigraphy—in short, all humanities.

Old Bao was different. Later folk stories also made Bao Zheng a "Blue Sky Official," and everything he handled was ruthless, which deeply reflected his spirit of law enforcement. In addition, after the failure of the Qingli New Deal, he advocated solving the problems of redundant officials and soldiers, and advocated strengthening the army and solidifying the borders for defense—defense was naturally for future attacks, so to a certain extent, Old Bao was also a main-war faction.

Over time, he naturally didn't see eye to eye with Ouyang Xiu. Fortunately, Ouyang Xiu also advocated reforming the weak style of literature and emphasized the integrity of literati; otherwise, Old Bao would probably have sprayed Ouyang Xiu to death.

Old Bao had a fierce temper. As the saying goes, appearance is born from the heart, so he looked quite majestic. Even at the age of forty-nine, with his hair grayed from worry, it was inevitable that he had become a bit plump, but it was not hard to see how square his face had been before. Combined with his majestic and good-looking sword eyebrows and the demeanor of a high-ranking official, he was truly dignified and majestic.

Most importantly, there was no crescent moon on Old Bao's forehead, and he was not black, but rather very fair...

Relatively speaking, beside Old Bao, his eldest son Bao Yi, who was as thin as a pole and sickly, was much less impressive.

When Wang Yan and the others entered the door, they simply looked at the people and bowed together: "Student Wang Yan, I have met Bao Gong, and I have met the elder brother."

"Student Fan Chunren..."

"Student Feng Jing..."

Old Bao didn't move much, looked at the three of them up and down, looked at the standing position with Wang Yan as the head and Fan Chunren and Feng Jing on the left and right, and looked at Wang Yan again. Only then did he respond with a hidden smile.

"Sit down, drink tea and talk." Old Bao picked up the tea and drank it himself, looking at Wang Yan who had just sat down, "I have long heard of Wang Ziyan's great name. This stir-fried tea is indeed good, fresh and elegant, with the fragrance of grass and trees, just right for the original taste of tea."

"Bao Gong is too kind. I just discovered it, and the reason it has today's fragrance is all the credit of the tea merchants and tea workers. This spring, I only used rock tea from the wild, and my father-in-law's tea workers were brilliant. They came to my house for only three days, and after returning to the tea factory for half a month, they far exceeded the stir-fried tea I made. Since then, until this autumn, the big tea merchants have exerted their strength, and the stir-fried tea is even better than this spring. I expect that next spring's tea will have an even better taste."

"Oh? Ziyan is interested in tea workers?"

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "I am interested in all crafts."

"How so?"

"If all crafts are strong, all industries will flourish, then the people will be rich, then the country will be rich, then the army will be strong and the horses will be sturdy. Then we can strike the four barbarians externally, and stabilize the national foundation internally."

Old Bao nodded: "The day before yesterday, you lectured on the Dao at the Fan Tower..."

Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly, hurriedly cupped his hands, and interrupted Old Bao's words: "Bao Gong, please don't be too kind to me. I am shallow in virtue and thin in talent, how can I talk about lecturing on the Dao? It is just exchanging learning with fellow scholars, checking for gaps and making up for leaks, and progressing together."

With a smile, Old Bao said: "What you said at the Fan Tower, Yongshu had already told me in a letter earlier. The arguments in it are refreshing and thought-provoking. You may not be clear that the Fan Tower incident has reached the Emperor's ears. Earlier, when you were famous for your calligraphy, the Emperor already knew."

"Bao Gong, please don't say any more. Nowadays, I have such a great reputation, and everyone says my calligraphy is the best in the world, my poetry is startling, and now they say I am establishing a school of thought, and I can become a literary master of a generation in the future. But in the end, I have learned the arts of literature and martial arts, and I am selling them to the imperial family. No matter how big the reputation is, it is useless; I still have to see the truth in the imperial examinations. If I can't pass the imperial examinations next spring, I am afraid I will have no face to see people."

Wang Yan looked like he was begging to be let off, and then said: "Brothers Yaofu and Dangshi, don't sit still. Bao Gong has profound virtue and talent, and works hard for the country's livelihood all day. Now that there is such a good opportunity, how can you let it go? You must ask for advice. Come, come, elder brother, I have some research on medical Dao, and I have saved dozens of lives, and there have been no mistakes so far. I opened a prescription this morning and asked someone to send it to Fan Gong for conditioning. Seeing that the elder brother is pale, has a bitter taste in his mouth, is lacking in spirit, has unstable breathing, and has floating footsteps, he is already plagued by illness. I will take a look at the elder brother's pulse and see where the symptoms are."

Bao Yi looked at his father, and Old Bao nodded indifferently: "Go to the study."

The eldest son's illness was also Old Bao's illness. Bao Yi's body was too poor. Even if he didn't understand medical Dao, looking at his appearance, he knew that his life was not long and he would be finished at any time. Old Bao was also worried day by day. He had only one son, who had been sensible and obedient since he was a child. It was obviously the tragedy of a white-haired person sending off a black-haired person, which always made Old Bao feel sad when he saw his eldest son.

"Brother Ziyan, please this way." Bao Yi stood up slowly, smiled friendly at Wang Yan, and raised a hand to guide him.

Wang Yan followed, and soon arrived at the study. He let Bao Yi lie flat, and while Wang Yan asked questions, he took his pulse and pressed everywhere.

Bao Yi smiled: "Father found many doctors for me, and the imperial physicians in the palace also saw me, saying that I have a deficiency of kidney qi and heart and lung disease. But I have been drinking medicine all year round, and although it has some effect, there is no major improvement, and I don't hold any expectations myself. Since it is impossible to turn the tide, it is always hard to escape death. If I die, I die. I will suffer less. It is not easy to be soaked in a medicine jar every day. It is just that I pity my old parents, white-haired people sending off black-haired people..."

Wang Yan shook his head: "Elder brother, don't be pessimistic. The doctors and imperial physicians are all profound in medical skills, and they have delayed the condition, and it has not yet reached the point of being incurable."

"Does Ziyan mean that I can still be saved?"

Seeing his doubt, Wang Yan smiled: "I not only understand medical Dao, but also know a little about martial Dao, and understand some cooking skills. I will write a prescription for the elder brother, pass on a set of exercises, and list a diet.

Most importantly, the elder brother must ensure rest, and avoid worrying or working hard. At the same time, keep your heart calm; sadness, joy, worry, and sorrow are the most harmful to the body. If you cultivate your heart and nature, drink medicine, practice martial arts, and strictly diet, the elder brother will feel spirited in half a month, and can be no different from ordinary people in half a year."

"Is it really so effective? Since there is a deficiency of kidney qi, can I still have offspring?" Bao Yi was very excited to hear Wang Yan say it so definitely. This was the first time in so many years that he had heard from someone else that he could be cured.

"First avoid sexual intercourse, and wait and see in half a year. I have to wait for the imperial examinations in the capital next spring, so I can adjust the medicine for the elder brother at any time. However, I don't have much of a name in medical Dao, elder brother..."

"I believe in Ziyan, no need to say more, just open the prescription and pass on the exercises." Bao Yi could be described as sitting up in shock from a terminal illness. He moved nimbly to get up and grind the ink. It was a case of being sick and rushing to the doctor.

Of course, if it was said that it was really being sick and rushing to the doctor, it was not. He was also a smart person, and his brain could understand it as soon as he turned it. No matter how bad what Wang Yan said was, he had opened his mouth to treat him. If he wasn't sure, Wang Yan would never open his mouth to say he wanted to treat him, but would only say he hadn't learned enough, etc.

Wang Yan naturally had confidence. Bao Yi's condition was indeed not light, belonging to some problems with the heart and kidney failure, but it was still within a controllable range and had not reached the level of uremia. This led to other organs and intestines having problems, causing the whole body to fail. This kind of illness was not a big problem for Wang Yan.

He smiled: "Elder brother, you forgot, avoid sadness, joy, worry, and sorrow; this is the key to longevity."

"It is really the pain of illness that has trapped my body and mind for a long time. For so many years, only Ziyan has clearly said that it can be cured. My heart really cannot be settled." Bao Yi was grinding the ink vigorously there, and his voice was even trembling.

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement, wrote the prescription, clearly wrote the medical advice, listed a diet, and a large pile of taboos. Immediately after, Bao Yi copied it again and let the servants in the house go out to buy medicine. Although there were indeed some precious medicinal materials in the medicine, the Bao family was not very wealthy, but it was relative to ordinary families, and Bao Yi was basically soaked in a medicine jar, and he was already immune to precious herbs.

As for why he copied it again, it was naturally because Wang Yan's calligraphy was relatively precious. Although that piece of calligraphy at the Fan Tower was formed by various factors, now a piece of Wang Yan's calligraphy, at the bottom, had to be five thousand strings of cash, and this was just some random writing without any poem addition.

Like this prescription written by Wang Yan, it hadn't spread, and outsiders didn't know that Wang Yan also knew medical skills. This piece of calligraphy was also of high value if taken out. Especially at Bao Yi's request, Wang Yan used his seal on the prescription and wrote another big character of "Tranquility and Far-reaching"...

After that, he went to the courtyard, and Wang Yan taught Bao Yi to practice boxing. Bao Yi couldn't be said to have a photographic memory, but it had to be admitted that those who succeeded in reading at this time had strong memories, and Bao Yi was no exception.

He only taught him three times, and the routine of more than twenty minutes was already practiced decently, but some movements were not in place, and Wang Yan pointed them out and made some fine-tuning.

At this time, Old Bao and the others, who had been chatting for a long time, also walked over.

"Can Ziyan cure it?"

"I have already told the elder brother the precautions. I dare not say it will be cured, but it should be greatly improved. As for having children, we have to wait and see. The elder brother's body cannot support the energy consumed by sexual intercourse. Even if a child is born, it is highly likely that the child will be stupid and physically disabled."

"Better not to have one." Old Bao sighed. Outside, he was a famous big sprayer, but at home, he was just a father worried about his child.

At this time, Bao Yi walked over and asked: "Ziyan, can my father practice this set of exercises you taught me?"

"It is for health and fitness. Bao Gong can naturally practice it. At first, he may lack energy, but after half a month, he will have a good appetite and plenty of spirit."

Old Bao asked curiously: "Did Yongshu also learn it?"

"Since I became his disciple." Wang Yan nodded with a smile.

"Then the old man will also learn it."

Old Bao's words sounded quite childish, a feeling that since others had learned it, he also wanted to learn it. It didn't have much contrast with the current Old Bao, but it was quite interesting if it were matched with the "blackened" Old Bao later.

Not caring about the two points of mockery in Wang Yan's smile, it only made people feel close, because he was truly treated as one of his own.

Old Bao changed the subject: "I heard that the first person you visited when you came to the capital was me? Why didn't you visit Wen Xiang?"

"Wen Xiang is in charge of national politics, and the imperial examinations are naturally within it. It is truly inappropriate to visit Wen Xiang before the examination. Please ask Bao Gong to convey my meaning when you meet Wen Xiang, and I will visit him after the examination."

Old Bao shook his head: "Actually, it doesn't matter much. The imperial examination is a report to the Emperor, and Wen Xiang cannot intervene."

"But in the end, it is executed by people, so it is better not to look for trouble."

"You are a sensible person." Old Bao finally nodded with a smile, and changed the subject: "It's getting late, eat dinner at home before going back, drink a few cups of wine, and you can tell me about your Dao."

Bigwigs talk like this, basically not giving others a choice, just like Wang Yan's appearance all along. Even if he is asking, it is a positive tone, making people understand the positive choice.

Of course, Wang Yan himself had no opinion. It was quite good to eat with Old Bao. The main thing was to walk into historical figures. Even if this layer of historical filter was removed, in the current era, Old Bao was also a figure worth seeing.

Perhaps in Old Bao's view, Wang Yan was the figure more worth seeing. The matter of treating his son was put aside, and the new learning proposed by Wang Yan was important. He was a truly impressive young man, a future bigwig in sight. Even if he didn't become an official, he had to be a leading figure in the Great Song literary world.

Even in Ouyang Xiu's letter, Wang Yan was praised to the sky, but in the end, he had to personally test his talent to be sure.

Even in Ouyang Xiu's letters, Wang Yan was praised to the high heavens, but one's true scholarship must always be personally tested to be sure; only by confirming it face-to-face could one have a real sense of it.

Old Bao himself advocated solving the problem of redundant officials, cutting off elderly officials, assessing various shadow-appointed officials, and never using corrupt officials for life, etc. Summarized, it was four words: "Waste, get out." But unfortunately, the opposition was loud, and Renzong couldn't suppress it.

Therefore, during the evening meal, Bao Zheng had a good discussion with Wang Yan about the school of thought. Still the same as before, only talking about some displayed content, and not talking about anything else, only saying that the talent was not enough and there was no practical experience, retaining a lot of room.

He couldn't propose overly radical theories, as that would be directly shot to death, leading to no time for development. Leaving room was to slowly compile later, and selectively promote according to the actual situation.

Although there was no official position now, and he couldn't say more things to Old Bao, just discussing the school of thought was enough for Wang Yan to display. Therefore, unsurprisingly, he gained Old Bao's appreciation and could be considered to have pulled in another backer. If Bao Yi's body improved in the future, the relationship would be even closer.

Wang Yan's purpose of visiting everywhere was also here: to find bigwigs who could do things later, first establish a friendly relationship, and then be allies later.

On the other hand, whether they were on the same path or not, he had to make these people recognize his talent, which belonged to raising his own value. The more he visited, the louder his reputation would be later, and the higher his status would be, because these people endorsed him. This was also the purpose of Ouyang Xiu letting him visit.

That is to say, other bigwigs were not in the capital; otherwise, Wang Yan would have to go through them all.

Even so, with the blessing of Ouyang Xiu's powerful human resources, Wang Yan could be considered to have met half of the Song court center. There were reformers, and there were conservatives. Reformers mostly cared about his thoughts, while conservatives belonged to debating the Dao with him and refuting his theoretical viewpoints.

But big figures couldn't really be as knowledgeable as Wang Yan, but it was just a casual act of destroying the Dao heart. Or to put it another way, they were correcting Wang Yan's biased thoughts and returning to the camp of the conservative faction; they were also well-intentioned.

In the end, it was a matter of stance, which could not be reasoned through.

He did the school of thought to pull those who agreed with his principles to his side. When the momentum was formed, he would carry out academic hegemony and political struggle in an all-round way, making those who didn't agree have to agree, rather than persuading those who didn't agree to agree. The distinction between the order of these two is heaven and earth.

Besides that, Ouyang Xiu's friends also had some people who were not high in official rank but were very talented, who were specifically doing learning. For example, the relatively famous Mei Yaochen, who had a very good relationship with Ouyang Xiu, but couldn't pass the imperial examinations,

Wang Yan continued to visit Ouyang Xiu's friends in the capital, such as Mei Yaochen, who was also a famous person, but couldn't pass the imperial examinations, and his family was not wealthy, so he took the path of shadow appointment to become a minor official. It was not until the third year of Huangyou that he was bestowed the status of "tong jinshi" by Renzong, and later he was mostly promoted by Ouyang Xiu. Of course, he was also a supporter of Ouyang Xiu's literary movement. Now he was working in the Imperial Academy.

Communicating with him was much simpler, mainly chatting about literary matters. Of course, they also chatted about the new school of thought, but he didn't discuss with Wang Yan whether the reform was good or right, but simply discussed with Wang Yan the advancement and shortcomings of the school of thought, etc.

Just like this, Wang Yan visited one family after another, met all kinds of people, and finally got some leisure, reading books at home with Fan Chunren and Feng Jing, and entrusted Bao Zheng to handle things, opening a convenient door for them to get passes to various museums and pavilions.

The Song Dynasty had various titles for museums, pavilions, and halls, such as university scholars, scholars, direct scholars, compilers, etc. This belonged to the special system of official, position, and dispatch in the Song Dynasty. Museums and pavilions belonged to the position, which was an honorary title and a standard configuration for bigwigs.

For example, the prime ministers of the Great Song were necessarily configured with the titles of the Zhaowen Pavilion, History Pavilion, and Jixian Academy—these three pavilions.

It was almost the same as the palace and pavilion system in the Ming Dynasty. Those who hung the titles were all members of the cabinet, and the cabinet ministers added together became the literary prime ministers, martial prime ministers, and financial prime ministers of the Great Song.

And in these museums and pavilions, there were indeed books, which belonged to the royal library and were all good books.

This kind of small matter was really a small matter for Bao Zheng; it was just reading books. However, Old Bao was an upright person, and he wouldn't make things convenient for people, so he specifically found time to talk to Zhao Zhen.

Wang Yan's reputation had been ringing in Zhao Zhen's ears for half a year, and Fan Chunren was Fan Zhongyan's son. These two were enough for Zhao Zhen, and they were all his good workers. As for Feng Jing, he also had a great reputation and was considered a tag-along. Old Zhao didn't even think about it and gave the pass directly.

So Wang Yan and the three of them began a happy life of studying and reading. Occasionally, Wang Yan would take them to participate in some scholar gatherings. Of course, they were all formal gatherings, and Wang Yan turned every gathering into a stage for him to absorb disciples, turning every gathering into his stage.

Time passed like this, and he also slightly increased some content in various debates. At the same time, his status was increasing day by day. In the past, he only had fame but didn't receive much respect. Although people were very polite to him, he didn't spend money when he went out to eat, drink, and prostitute, but there was no respect.

Now, as he persistently carried out self-marketing and continuously carried out some fierce debates, refuting those who kept looking for trouble, he gained respect... ===== CHAPTER 1031 =====

Now, following his persistent self-marketing, constant intense debates, and refuting those who kept finding trouble, he had gained respect...