Chapter 18: Zhang Jie: Di Pangpang is actually me?

"Mr. Li."

In the watching crowd, someone recognized Mr. Li.

"Hmm."

Mr. Li nodded slightly to show response.

"Mr. Li, please come inside."

The man who recognized Mr. Li hurriedly made a path for him.

As for why he didn't ask what Mr. Li was here for?

This was already in front of the tiger-hunting hero's procession; if they weren't here to see the tiger-hunting hero, were they here to go to the market?

Mr. Li thanked the man and walked inside.

Behind him followed the group of people from before.

"Whoa! What a sturdy big man!"

Mr. Li, who entered, looked at the man who was surrounded by the crowd, still a head taller than those around him,

with muscles knotted all over his body, as if possessing a thousand pounds of strength, yet not appearing bloated,

but instead having a kind of primitive wild beauty, and couldn't help but praise.

Those who followed Mr. Li in all nodded in agreement.

At the same time, they had a bit more belief in that almost absurd rumor:

If there was still someone who could beat a big worm to death with bare hands, then it must be this big man in front of them!

After Mr. Li looked at the big man a few times, his gaze was attracted by the rack carried by several sturdy men behind him.

On the rack lay the corpse of a big worm that, even in death, still exuded the aura of the King of Beasts.

This big worm was several times larger than an ordinary big worm.

If an ordinary big worm was five or six hundred pounds, then this big worm was at least over seven hundred pounds!

"Hiss~"

What made Mr. Li and the people behind him stare the most was that

the head of such a big worm was bloody and mangled,

as if it had really been grabbed by the head and beaten to death alive!

Even the "King" character on the tiger's head, representing its status as the King of Beasts, was already blurred.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Just when the crowd of onlookers like Mr. Li were shocked, the gong representing the county government was struck.

"The County Magistrate has arrived~"

A yamen runner specifically responsible for singing out the arrival shouted loudly.

"Move aside, all move aside!"

A team of yamen runners quickly separated the watching commoners and stood on both sides.

Shi Shi Wenbin, the County Magistrate of Yanggu County, walked slowly with the County Assistant.

As for why the County Lieutenant, one of the three giants of Yanggu County, was not there?

The County Lieutenant was currently leading the county soldiers to deal with the Wild Boar stronghold massacre case

created by a guy who didn't want to reveal his name!

"Greetings to the County Magistrate!"

The nearby commoners, seeing this, were about to bow.

Speaking of which, although our Great Song was incompetent in everything and number one in sending money,

because they raised a vast number of officials, the legal system was actually built quite well.

The laws of the Song Dynasty required officials to be amiable and not make things difficult for the commoners.

During the interrogation of prisoners, only when the prisoner refused to confess

and the government produced evidence would they be allowed to regretfully kneel and cry.

Therefore, ordinary people in the Song Dynasty, when seeing the County Magistrate,

generally only needed to perform a bow or stand, without needing to kneel.

Of course, how the law was stipulated was one thing, and how it was executed was another.

The masters of our Great Song, except for dealing with the one in the Imperial Palace in Bianjing,

when else did they ever take the laws of the Great Song seriously?

In their eyes, the laws of the Great Song were like the treasure notes issued in the late Ming Dynasty; they were too hard even for wiping one's butt.

Even though many of these laws were compiled with their own participation...

……

"Hehe."

"This county heard today that a tiger-hunting hero had appeared in our Yanggu County, so I came to see him.

Speaking of which, this is also to share the joy with everyone, so you don't need to bow."

Shi Shi Wenbin smiled and waved his hand to stop everyone from bowing.

"Is this the tiger-hunting Warrior Wu?"

Looking at the big man in the center of the crowd, Shi Shi Wenbin's eyes lit up, and he walked over quickly.

"Wu Song, greetings to the County Magistrate."

The big man cupped his hands and bowed slightly.

Clearly, this big man was the famous tiger-hunting hero Wu Song from *The Water Margin*.

After all, besides Wu Song, Wu Erlang, who else had the strength to beat a tiger with bare hands?

"Warrior Wu, no need for such formalities."

Shi Shi Wenbin reached out to help, helping the kneeling Wu Song up.

While Wu Song was talking to County Magistrate Wen,

Mr. Li, who was watching the fun in the crowd, suddenly heard a voice from behind:

"Mr. Li."

Mr. Li turned around and saw it was his most proud student, so he smiled:

"So it's Renjie, are you here to join the fun too?"

It was Zhang Jie who had come with Pan Jinlian and others upon hearing the news.

That's right, Zhang Jie was one of the students of this Mr. Li.

It was said before that Mr. Li opened a private school in Yanggu County, and Zhang Jie had previously studied there.

As for why a private school opened by a mere Mr. Li could become one of the famous private schools in Yanggu County?

Firstly, it was because Mr. Li was polite and didn't care about money, and had quite a clean reputation.

In the years he had been running the private school, he didn't look down on students whose families were poor and couldn't pay enough tuition.

Secondly, Mr. Li was indeed talented; he could be said to know astronomy above,

geography below, and was quite experienced in worldly affairs.

The only pity was that his luck was not good, and he had failed to pass the provincial examination several times.

After failing repeatedly, the open-minded Mr. Li also let go and began to focus on the cause of education.

Several of Zhang Jie's senior fellow students had already passed the provincial examination, which further boosted Mr. Li's reputation.

As for the metropolitan graduate, none had passed yet.

After all, the competition for metropolitan graduate was too fierce.

It was a bit funny to say that Zhang Jie was quite shocked when he first learned Mr. Li's real name.

Because Mr. Li's real name was Li Xiucheng!

He actually had the same name as the famous Loyal King Li Qian-sui of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

However, Zhang Jie was only slightly shocked at the time and didn't care much.

After all, the years of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty were nearly seven hundred years away from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom,

and even the great-great-great-grandfather of the Loyal King Li Xiucheng might not have been born yet!

Besides, there were many people in the world with the same name and surname.

In the 21st century, there were tens of thousands of living Zhang Weis.

(According to the latest data from the Ministry of Public Security in 2024, the number of people named Zhang Wei in the country exceeded 290,000.

Some statistics also show that the number of people named Zhang Wei in the country is around 299,000, or even close to 300,000.)

Just a name, it didn't represent anything.

"Such excitement, how could I miss it."

Zhang Jie replied with a smile.

As for "Renjie," it was Zhang Jie's courtesy name.

Although according to tradition, men usually take a courtesy name at the capping ceremony at the age of twenty,

and women take a courtesy name at the hairpin ceremony at the age of fifteen, and Zhang Jie was still under twenty and shouldn't have a courtesy name,

but Zhang Jie's old father, Zhang Dahu, died three years ago.

Zhang Dahu specifically invited Mr. Li when he was critically ill to take a courtesy name for Zhang Jie,

showing that although Zhang Jie was not yet an adult, he could already preside over the affairs of the Zhang family.

Who told him to have only one son, Zhang Jie?

This had the same effect as Emperor Jing of Han specifically adding a cap for Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Xiaozhu, who was under twenty, before he died.

And the courtesy name and the name generally had a connection; the "courtesy name" was often a supplement and explanation of the "name,"

and the "name" and "courtesy name" were the surface and interior of each other, so it was also called a "table name," specifically divided into three types:

First, the "name" and "courtesy name" have the same meaning, such as Du Fu, courtesy name Zimei,

the explanation of "Fu" is "a term for a handsome man in ancient times";

Northern Song prose writer Zeng Gong, courtesy name Zigu; Gong and Gu have the same meaning.

Second, they are mutually auxiliary; Zhuge Liang, courtesy name Kongming; the meanings of "Liang" and "Ming" are very similar.

Third, the meanings are opposite; for example, Northern Song lyricist Yan Shu, courtesy name Tongshu; "Shu" and "Tong" have opposite meanings;

another example is Zhu Xi, who was nailed to the pillar of historical shame in the 21st century and whose thoughts were also thrown into the trash heap,

his name was Xi, courtesy name Yuanhui; "Xi" means bright, while "Hui" means dim.

Mr. Li, thinking of the "Jie" (outstanding) in Zhang Jie's name, thought of the person who was upright all his life, knew people and assigned them well,

and recommended virtuous and talented officials to the Tang Dynasty one after another, with fruitful political achievements,

was recognized by the court and the public as a "minister who sent talents to the Tang Dynasty," and had the reputation of "only one person south of the Big Dipper,"

especially when Wu Zetian was in power, he was famous for not fearing power,

remonstrating directly, and becoming a famous prime minister who left his name in history: Di Renjie.

He used "Renjie" as Zhang Jie's courtesy name to inspire Zhang Jie with the deeds of Di Gong.

He hoped that Zhang Jie could also become an upright official who spoke for the people in the future.

Of course, this expressed his beautiful wishes for Zhang Jie:

hoping that Zhang Jie could become a general and prime minister like Di Renjie, reach the peak of officialdom, and display his ambitions.

It could only be said that Mr. Li had high hopes for Zhang Jie.

Zhang Jie's cheap father, Zhang Dahu, was extremely satisfied after knowing this.

Then Zhang Jie's courtesy name was decided.

Zhang Jie: Di Pangpang is actually me?

When he heard the courtesy name Mr. Li took for him at the time, Zhang Jie only wanted to ask:

"Where is my Yuanfang?"

Di Pangpang: Yuanfang, what do you think?

Captain of China Yan Shuangying—no, it was Li Yuanfang, who held the Youlan Sword and hung the chain saber at his waist:

"Reporting to the master, there must be something tricky about this!"

……

"Hmm.

I heard that you have been studying hard at home during this time, preparing for the autumn examination.

Diligent study is good, but you must also relax appropriately; combining work and rest is the way to longevity."

Mr. Li taught earnestly.

He knew that his student had been sickly since childhood,

and if he was always tense, he was afraid it would shorten his lifespan.

And he had high hopes for this student, Zhang Jie,

hoping that this intelligent student could complete his unfulfilled dream of the imperial examination and his dream of being an honest official!

"I will follow the teacher's teachings respectfully."

Zhang Jie said solemnly.

Although after the golden finger arrived, he could no longer be treated as ordinary,

Mr. Li's starting point was good, and his concern for him was not fake.

"Alright, alright. Let's not talk about this today; watching the fun is important."

Mr. Li waved his hand and then led Zhang Jie and the others toward the center.

The people in front, after recognizing Zhang Jie and the others, also gave way one after another. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====

The people in front, having recognized Zhang Jie and the others, also cleared a path one after another.