Chapter 29: Everyone Is a Man

"Hahahaha!"

"Young Master Tang is really not leaving any face for the County Marquis!"

"Hmph, could it be that Young Master Tang is wrong? Today, even farmers are allowed to apply; does this not insult us scholars?"

The entire crowd burst into laughter, quite unscrupulous.

At this moment, Chen Kui on the stage also sneered coldly, sipping his tea leisurely. Everything today was naturally arranged by him, with the goal of slapping the County Marquis in the face and causing this newly established County Marquis Mansion to lose all its prestige!

Open recruitment?

Ha!

Easy to say, but with Liu Dahao's half-baked literary talent, what could he possibly select?

The other families were also watching this joke; although they did not laugh wantonly, they were all suppressing their laughter.

Liu Dahao was naturally flushed with anger by this Tang Shiwei.

"What can you do?"

Just at this moment, Liu Zheng gave a cold smile and looked at Tang Shiwei.

Tang Shiwei looked back, and when he saw it was Liu Zheng, he could not help but let a look of intense mockery well up in his eyes. A playboy, and he dares to compete with me?

He then shook his head and swayed, exuding an air of arrogance: "So it is Young Master Liu. Why doesn't Young Master Liu set a topic? Wind, flowers, snow, moon, all kinds of Flying Flower Order—I, Tang Shiwei, can handle them with ease!"

The whole crowd cheered.

This Tang Shiwei's literary talent was indeed outstanding.

Liu Zheng gave a cold smile: "Is that so?"

Is this another blind fool coming to compete in poetry with him?

He looked at Tang Shiwei and chuckled: "May I ask Young Master Tang, which position are you here to apply for?"

Tang Shiwei looked arrogant and snorted coldly: "Naturally, it is for Chief Clerk!"

Liu Zheng laughed in spite of himself: "Then I am sorry, Young Master Tang is not qualified."

"You..."

Tang Shiwei immediately said angrily: "Young Master Liu insults me too much! The notice says the County Marquis Mansion wants to gather all the talents of the world to manage Yinzhou together! Are you jealous of my overflowing talent, and thus lack the capacity to tolerate others?"

The crowd also nodded and echoed in agreement.

"Deceiving the world and stealing fame!"

"All show and no substance!"

Liu Zheng said with a smile: "Alright then, write a poem first!"

Hearing the request for a poem, Tang Shiwei looked full of confidence. He opened his folding fan and chanted: "I, Tang Shiwei, have traveled through famous mountains and great rivers since childhood, yet I am mocked by the County Marquis's son—how sad, how lamentable!"

The crowd cursed in unison, feeling quite indignant.

Liu Zheng also watched with a smile.

"Life in this world is not as one wishes, tomorrow I shall loosen my hair and roam in a small boat.

Wishing to cross the Yellow River, ice blocks the river, wanting to climb the Taihang Mountains, snow fills the peaks!"

Tang Shiwei chanted, shaking his head.

Upon hearing this, the crowd all cheered.

This poem described a person full of learning who was frustrated and not appreciated, even being mocked in public, so he might as well continue his great cause of traveling through mountains and rivers. In short, it was others who lacked discernment, not that he was not a talent.

Scholars are often frivolous, scholars are often narcissistic.

A single poem immediately aroused the resonance and indignation of the whole crowd. Many people raised their cups and shouted, and the scene fell into chaos.

"Young Master Liu, what do you think?"

Tang Shiwei laughed loudly.

The crowd shouted in unison, "What do you think?"

At this time, those on the stage also nodded one after another, praising Tang Shiwei's outstanding literary talent. Even Zheng Yue Ru looked at Liu Zheng with worry, not knowing if he could handle this.

"Frustrated and not appreciated?"

Liu Zheng gave a cold laugh, picked up the wine cup on the table, toasted Tang Shiwei from afar, drank it in one gulp, and suddenly stood up, a dazzling light flashing in his eyes.

"Do you not see the Yellow River's water coming from the sky, rushing to the sea, never to return.

Do you not see the bright mirror in the high hall mourning white hair, morning like black silk, evening turning to snow.

When life is successful, one must enjoy it to the fullest, do not let the golden goblet face the moon empty.

Heaven gave me talent, it must be useful, a thousand gold coins spent will return again!"

The whole crowd was startled upon hearing this.

Tang Shiwei's face changed drastically.

What do you mean by this? I just lamented being frustrated and not appreciated, and you come back with 'Heaven gave me talent, it must be useful'?

Zheng Yue Ru's eyes lit up as she listened, and she could not help but stand up.

This was a classic case of slapping someone in the face on the spot, not holding a grudge overnight. And it was a precise slap!

Liu Zheng chuckled and continued to chant:

"Cook the sheep and slaughter the ox to make merry, we must drink three hundred cups at once.

Master Cen, Dan Qiusheng, bring the wine, do not stop.

I will sing a song for you, please listen to me with your ears tilted.

Precious jade and fine food are not worth valuing, I only wish to be drunk for a long time and not wake up.

Since ancient times, sages and worthies have all been lonely, only the drinkers leave their names behind.

The Chen King once feasted at Pingle, drinking ten thousand coins worth of wine, indulging in joy and jest.

Why does the host say there is little money, just buy more and drink with you."

"Five-flower horses, thousand-gold furs,

Call the boy to bring out and trade for fine wine, with you I shall dissolve ten thousand ages of sorrow."

"Bring in the Wine"! Another peerless classic by Li Bai. The ideological content of this poem is extremely profound, and its artistic expression is quite mature. The entire piece is about drinking wine; while it appears high-spirited, optimistic, and upward-looking, it is actually filled with the author's frustration and sighs over his unappreciated talent. But such is the way of the world, and one person has no power to change it.

However, the author holds an optimistic and open-minded sentiment.

He believes that even if he cannot serve in office, at least he still has wine and poetry!

The entire poem is filled with life philosophy, especially that sense of detachment, which makes one unable to help but ponder deeply. Only such a state of mind is worthy of being called a talent!

By comparison, that Tang Shiwei, with his mad and eccentric manner of constantly talking about drifting in a small boat, seems far too petty.

The entire venue instantly fell silent.

Liu Dahao laughed heartily; he knew his son's capabilities, so naturally, he was not very surprised.

But what about the others?

Zheng Yue Ru knew of the legends surrounding Liu Zheng, but she was still shaken on the spot by this poem of his! This poem deserves to be called a song for the ages!

Shen Xing was also stunned, and only after taking a few deep breaths did he exclaim: "Young Master has great talent!"

"Great talent!"

"Good poem!"

"A good poem for the ages!"

Among the scholars and literati present, who among them did not know quality? After a brief shock, they stood up one after another, and with respect and apology, bowed deeply to Liu Zheng in unison.

"This, this, this, you..."

Tang Shiwei's expression changed several times in an instant, and he was deeply struck.

Liu Zheng sneered: "Jealous of your literary talent?"

"You?"

"To serve as Chief Clerk?"

"The Chief Clerk manages the civil officials of the County Marquis Mansion; it requires not only a wealth of talent but also an understanding of the people's will! Very well, I shall ask you: in my Yinzhou, how much grain does a family of five need to be full for a year?"

"What is the income of a family, so they do not need to go out and beg?"

"How many wild vegetables in the mountains that can serve as food do you recognize?"

"How can one increase the income of farmers?"

How could Tang Shiwei know these things? He was drenched in sweat from Liu Zheng's questioning, took a few steps back, and looked flustered.

Liu Zheng flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly: "You claim to have traveled to all the famous mountains and great rivers under heaven, but have you ever thought about which crops could be brought to Yinzhou for trial planting, or which medicinal herbs could bring stability to the common people?"

"Good!"

"Young Master asks well!"

"Young Master has a heart as vast as a valley; it was we who were rude!"

Many of the scholars and literati who had just been mocking Liu Zheng stood up one after another.

Tang Shiwei was now overcome with a sense of failure, drenched in sweat, and turned to leave in shame. In such a situation, how could he have the face to stay any longer?

"Useless!"

Chen Kui, on the platform, could not help but curse when he saw this. This Tang Shiwei took quite a bit of money from their Chen Family every year; he had originally thought he could use him to slap the faces of the Liu Family father and son, but he never expected him to cover his face and leave.

But...

What Method is there for this?

He looked at Liu Zheng coldly.

This young master of the Liu Family is indeed somewhat extraordinary.

Tang Shiwei's defeat sounded an alarm for the people. The subsequent selection scene was much more stable. But this selection method of Liu Zheng's still left people unable to understand.

After Tang Shiwei left, a fellow who claimed to be the second-greatest talent of Yinzhou also stood out.

As soon as he started reading a love poem, he was driven away by Liu Zheng.

Everyone was in an uproar. Could it be that this young master of the Liu Family just dislikes poetry that much? But in this era, that is literary talent!

Then, an old man dressed in rags and smelling of sour sweat appeared. This old man was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, the Doctrine of the Mean, and the Great Learning, reciting them fluently from memory.

But when Liu Zheng asked a few sharper questions, the man was stumped.

A bookworm!

Liu Zheng shook his head. What is the use of reciting ancient texts? He needs someone who is truly learned.

For this entire morning, Liu Zheng had not selected a single person.

This made many people unable to sit still.

The good impression many had just formed of Liu Zheng vanished immediately.

"Young Master Liu, are you playing with us?"

"Exactly, what kind of talent do you actually want?"

"Could it be that you really want those farmers who recognize medicinal herbs and crops to become officials in the County Marquis Mansion?"

The crowd burst into laughter, and dozens of eyes looked mockingly at one person in the crowd.

This person was very out of place among these scholars and literati. He was dressed like a Commoner, wore a white headscarf, had dark skin, and his hands were covered in calluses.

Being looked at this way, the man's face turned red: "I, I just came to join in the fun!"

"Hahahaha!"

"A Commoner, does he also want to be an official?"

"An ape in a hat, making a laughingstock of himself!"

Liu Zheng, however, looked at him with interest and chuckled: "What is your name?"

The burly farmer said in a muffled voice: "Young Master, my name is Liang Erfu, and I am a farmer. I, I, I know the answers to those questions you just asked!"

"Oh?"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up, and he encouraged him to continue.

He seemed to have an inexplicable fondness for this kind of sturdy fellow; perhaps it was because he was an engineering man himself, and he truly could not stand the flowery, affected manner of those scholars. His subordinates had to be real men, every one of them!

Liang Erfu stiffened his neck and said loudly, "In Mian and Luo valleys, rice crops yield thirty shi per mu, and sometimes as much as fifteen shi!"

"For a field of one mu, even with the strong outperforming the weak, and regardless of whether the water and weather are timely, even if one cannot fully utilize the land's potential, the annual yield is no less than one shi of grain."

"Yinzhou rarely has good fields; medium fields..."

"Poor fields..."

"For a family of five, two taels of fine silver can keep them full!"

"Yinzhou has many wild vegetables, but one needs..."

In the entire County Marquis Mansion, only the voice of Liang Erfu remained. Everyone else was stunned; weren't those who farmed just farmers? Weren't they just Commoners?

Where did all this Learning come from?

Liu Zheng, however, was already quite excited; he stood up and asked, "Liang Erfu, are you literate?"

Liang Erfu replied, "Reporting to the young master, I attended a Private School for a few years..."

"Good!"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily and slapped his thigh: "Liang Erfu, you are officially appointed as a Counselor of the Ministry of Agriculture in the County Marquis Mansion!"

The entire room was instantly in an uproar.

A Commoner, actually able to enter the inner sanctum?

What kind of decorum is this?

Liang Erfu was also stunned on the spot.

He had only come today to join in the excitement, and just like that, he had become an official?