The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The fleet that welcomed the bride had already left the case and was heading upstream towards Jiujiang Prefecture.

Xu Bangrui and the two brothers Wei Guangde and Wei Wencai stood behind him, looking at the outline of Nanjing City in the distance.

"Brother-in-law, don't think too much. No matter what they do, the position in the end will always be yours."

Wei Guangde whispered in Xu Bangrui's ear.

"Um?"

Xu Bangrui was a little surprised why Wei Guangde was so direct.

"Before, I was worried about my father-in-law's poor health, but when I saw him today, hehe."

Wei Guangde chuckled.

After letting the others behind him leave, leaving only the three of them on the bow, Wei Guangde said what he was thinking.

At first, Wei Guangde was really worried about the health of Wei Guogong Xu Pengju.

You know, although he didn't have much contact with Emperor Jiajing, Wei Guangde could still roughly understand what kind of person Emperor Jiajing was by listening to his words and observing his actions.

Emperor Jiajing was a smart man with extremely high administrative skills. Although he did not go to court very often, he firmly held the power of the country in his hands.

It can be seen from his treatment of Xia Yan, Zhao Wenhua and others that he can kill even his former favorites. He only sees whether they still need them.

However, judging from Zhao Wenhua's ability to escape from the capital in embarrassment, it seems that Emperor Jiajing still has some friendship. The news that Yan Song once interceded for Zhao Wenhua has spread to the outer court, and everyone suddenly realized why Zhao Wenhua was able to leave the capital.

However, many past events also prove that Emperor Jiajing was a bit eager for quick success and a bit arrogant, especially in terms of face.

However, these are not things that Wei Guangde is worried about, because they have nothing to do with the succession of the Duke of Wei.

Emperor Jiajing was very independent in doing things. He often acted according to his own wishes and did not listen to others' advice.

This is where Wei Guangde worried about the dispute between King Yu and King Jing in the capital. Although he chose King Yu to place his bet, he was still a little worried about making a mistake. And if Emperor Jiajing really liked King Jing, and Xu Pengju was not in good health, there was no guarantee that he would not make a mistake. He chose to use the inheritance of the dukedom of Wei to test the reaction of the officials.

Stubborn and perverse, with such a personality, Wei Guangde was not very sure that he could speak for Xu Bangrui at the critical moment, as long as he already had an opinion in his mind, because no matter what you said, Emperor Jiajing would not hear it.

But when he saw his father-in-law Xu Pengju today, Wei Guangde made up his mind. He was in good health and had at least twenty years left to live. When the time came to discuss the issue of seizing the title, it might not necessarily be the Emperor Jiajing who made the decision.

If King Jing comes to the throne, we can only wait until then, but if His Royal Highness Prince Yu comes to the throne, with his own merits and etiquette, Xu Bangrui will be more sure of successfully inheriting the Dukedom of Wei.

A few days later, the fleet that picked up the bride sailed back to Jiangxi and docked at Jiujiang Wei Pier.

By this time, the place had long since been cleared, and all the miscellaneous things had been moved away, replaced by various festive objects. Firecrackers sounded on the shore, and musicians on the ship and shore played festive and cheerful tunes, adding to the bustling atmosphere of the scene.

The news of Wei Guangde's marriage had long spread throughout Jiujiang Prefecture. Almost all the officials and businessmen in the prefecture gathered at the Wei family. Wei Guangde's former classmates and contemporaries also came in droves. Even Old Master Sun was picked up by someone arranged by Wei Guangde.

At this time, Wei Guangde was being manipulated like a puppet on strings to complete one wedding procedure after another.

There are too many things to do. For someone who is getting married for the first time in two lives, Wei Guangde is still a little confused.

Although Xu Jianglan wore a red hijab and went through the ceremony with Wei Guangde and was sent to the bridal chamber, Wei Guangde has not yet been able to see what his wife looks like, but her figure is still good.

The wedding was naturally followed by a wedding banquet, and at this time, Wei Guangde's father suddenly said to Master Sun next to him: "My son has been naughty since he was a child. Thanks to Master's patient teaching, he has achieved what he is today.

Although the child was not satisfied with the title, he had already entered the imperial court and became an official. I was thinking about giving the child a name.

I, Old Wei, am a rough man. When I first named my child, I asked a wandering Taoist priest. I wonder if I can ask the master to name my child today. No matter what, you are Guangde’s enlightenment teacher. "

When Wei Meng said this, except for Wu Zhankui and a few others who had known about it in advance, everyone else at the table was a little surprised.

In fact, Wei Guangde decided on the word selection after careful consideration and discussion with his father.

Although Wei Guangde passed the provincial examination, joint examination, and palace examination all the way, he seemed to be very good in the examination, but in fact, he always got on the list with a parking space. It was purely luck, not how outstanding his articles were.

His ranking was not high, so he was not well received by the examiners. The only exception was naturally the last imperial examination, where he was unexpectedly picked up by Emperor Jiajing.

As for the examiners, not to mention the provincial examination and the palace examination, the examiner of the general examination was Lu Ben. Usually, if you have a senior pavilion as your teacher, it is naturally best for him to lead you into the officialdom.

But the only difference is that Mr. Lu Ge is ill and has been recuperating at home for a long time. Basically, he just has a name in the cabinet.

And as far as Wei Guangde knew in the capital, the fundamental reason why Mr. Lu Ben Lu Ge was able to gain a foothold in the cabinet was because he followed Yan Song's lead.

Wei Guangde has complicated feelings for his current fellow countryman.

It was not easy for Yan Song to maintain the operation of the Ming Dynasty, but the most important thing was that this person seemed not to have a good ending, so Wei Guangde had always maintained an aloof relationship with the Yan family.

As a fellow villager, he naturally has to visit from time to time, but it is just a polite behavior from the younger generation to the elders. He has already drawn a clear line with the Yan family.

As for the palace examination, the nominal examiner is actually Emperor Jiajing, and the others can only be examiners, but they are definitely not the examiners. Otherwise, Jinshi is a disciple of the emperor.

Speaking of this section, it is because the ancients did not choose the word randomly. The person who picked the word had to be a highly respected senior or teacher. Do you want Wei Guangde to go to Emperor Jiajing and ask the teacher to pick a word for himself?

Maybe Emperor Jiajing would give Wei Guangde a nickname, Long Yan Dayue, and then the news would spread that all the civil and military officials in the dynasty were mocking him as a flatterer behind his back, and the officialdom would stop messing around, as people's words are terrible.

Wei Guangde searched around and found that it seemed that only Sun Fuzi, his first teacher, was still qualified. After all, he was his true teacher. No matter where he went, he could not say "respect teachers and respect morality".

As for the elders in the family, they are all military officers. If a Jinshi asks a military general to choose a name for him, even if he is really talented and knowledgeable, there is a high probability that he will be treated as a joke by other civil servants. Although he will not be ostracized, he certainly will not That's fine.

Wei Guangde was less than 20 years old and had not yet been crowned, so he had not been given a name before, and others called him by his first name.

However, this is not a problem for him who has already entered the officialdom, so when he returned to Jiujiang this time, one was to get a wife, and the other was to get a name.

If you don't have a crown, then you don't have a crown. It doesn't matter if you take the word out. Besides, you can still get a crown even if you are under twenty. After all, you will have to be an official for a long time in the future. When you reach the age of twenty, you will not be able to petition Emperor Jiajing for leave again. Return home for the crowning ceremony.

However, Master Sun looked troubled when he heard what Father Wei said. He is a scholar, and his student has given him a reputation. He is already a Jinshi or a Chuanlu. Can he give it to him?

"Master, you are Guangde's teacher, so don't refuse."

Wu Zhankui on the side saw the hesitation on Master Sun's face and guessed what he was thinking, so he spoke at this time.

As for the other people at the table, the one with the highest official position excluding military generals is the prefect of Jiujiang Prefecture, but at that level, his nephew can't say he will arrive someday.

Wei Guangde's official promotion was really fast. Others moved every few years, but he just moved every year. Calculating, next year he should be promoted to the sixth rank, and from the fifth rank the year after that. It seems that it won't take a few years. Catch up with yourself.

What's more, I am still a military commander, so I can't compete with Wei Guang.

Now Wu Zhankui has taken advantage of Wei Guangde. Whether it is the commander of the guards, the prefect of Jiujiang or the Bingbei Road, they must give him face.

It’s true that one person can ascend to heaven with a chicken or a dog.

After hearing Wu Zhankui's words, Master Sun's face softened slightly and he nodded slightly, but he also quickly thought about what word to give Wei Guangde.

He had asked about the name Guangde when Wei Meng sent him to his private school, because the name Guangde seemed formal, and he didn't believe it could be thought up by an official from hundreds of households.

When I learned that it was given by a wandering Taoist who had been rescued by Wei Meng, I was relieved.

Taoist priests are naturally most familiar with the "Tao Te Ching", which says, "High virtue is like a valley; enlightenment is like humiliation; extensive virtue is like a lack; building virtue is like stealing; quality is like a sincerity."

But what should we call Wei Guangde? After all, he is already a Jinshi and a member of the officialdom.

The ancients were very particular about naming and character selection. "Yan's Family Instructions" said: "In ancient times, names were given in correct form, and characters were used to express virtue." "Book of Rites·Quli" said: "A man with twenty crowns should be given a character." , "A woman with fifteen hairpins has a Chinese character."

In other words, both men and women are given names when they are young and choose words when they are adults.

Before choosing a character, you can call someone by name. After choosing a character, except for teachers and teachers who can call you by name, peers and subordinates should respectfully call you by name, but you can only call yourself by name.

For example, in the Analects of Confucius, Confucius can call himself Qiu, and his disciples all call him Zhongni, Kong Qiu, and Kong Zhongni. As for calling him Confucius, that is an honorific title for later generations. In his time, no one would call him that.

There are often certain related meanings between names and characters, mainly in the following relationships: one is the same training, the character is the interpretation of the name, or comes from the same allusion.

For example, Zhou Yu, also known as Gongjin, both Yu and Jin are beautiful jade. Similarly, Zhuge Jin, named Ziyu. The names and characters of the two people are used upside down.

There is also Zhuge Liang, whose courtesy name is Kong Ming. Ming and Liang are also synonymous.

The second is complementarity, that is, the name and the character are opposites to each other, so as to complement each other and balance.

For example, when the character Han Yu retreats, it becomes more progressive, and the retreat forms a complement.

Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian in the Southern Song Dynasty, had the courtesy name Hui. Xi refers to the light in the morning, which is bright; Hui refers to the light in the evening, which is not bright.

The third is joint meaning, there is an association between the character and the name, or the character is an extension of the name.

For example, Guan Yu, whose name is Yun Chang, Yu means wings that can fly, and Yun Chang means the sky is high and the clouds are comfortable. When combined, it can be understood as spreading wings and soaring.

Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan, Shi, is the crossbar in front of an ancient carriage, "Zuo Zhuan. Ten Years of Duke Zhuang": "Look down at the track, climb up Shi and look at it." Zhan means to look far or high, to get on the carriage. You can look far away.

Wei Guangde's name is Guangde, and the original meaning in the book is "The lofty virtue is like a canyon; the vast virtue is like insufficient; the strong virtue is like laziness; the simplicity and innocence are like turbidity."

"If Guangde is not enough, Guangde is not enough"

Master Sun's mouth relaxed as he silently recited the origin of Wei Guangde's name, which was a little embarrassing.

Thinking of this, Master Sun thought of the second half of this passage, "A generous person has no corners; a great tool comes late; a great sound has a loud sound; an elephant is invisible; the Tao is hidden and nameless. A husband only knows the Tao, and he is good at lending and succeeding."

The most square things have no edges and corners; the largest materials take a long time to make utensils; the loudest sounds sound silent; the largest images have no shape. The Tao is secluded and has no name, nameless and silent. Only "Tao" can make all things start well and end well.

"A good loan will come true?"

Suddenly Master Sun thought of the last sentence, only Tao can make all things start well and end well. If virtue is not enough, then we should do our best to start well and end well.

However, Master Sun did not say it right away, but thought about other interpretations.

In fact, different people have different views on these ancient books. Even the word "Guangde" in Wei Guangde's name has slightly different interpretations.

It’s just that whether it means “the vastness of virtue is not enough”, or “the vastness of virtue is not enough, it is invisible and cannot be full”, or “it is so vast that it cannot be added, it stops here and is not extensive”, in fact the difference is not big. , all imply that Guangde is not easy and difficult to achieve.

Since it’s difficult to do, it’s better to start well and end well.

The husband is a Taoist, good at lending and successful.

The meaning of lending, giving, and giving is explained in Wang Bi's Commentary on the Tao Te Ching:

"All these good things are the result of Tao. In terms of images, they are elephants, but elephants are invisible. In terms of sounds, they are big sounds, and big sounds are like sounds. Things are made of them, but their formation is not seen, so Hidden and nameless.

A loan is not just to provide for one's shortcomings. A loan is enough to last forever, so it is called a good loan. It is said to be well-made without the help of a machinist. It has nothing but its shape. "

After a long silence, Master Sun finally said something that no one else understood.

"Lending is not just to provide for one's needs, but one loan is enough to last forever, so it is called a good loan."

Having said this, Master Sun looked at Wei Guangde who was toasting at the table outside and whispered to Mr. Wei: "Let's call it 'good loan'. I hope that even if Guangde is not good enough, he will always be virtuous."

Although Wei Guangde was not here, and it was not Wei Guangde who said it, it is impossible for Wei Guangde not to know about such a big thing as word picking.

Now that we know that the Wei family has chosen to believe in themselves, there is nothing to say. Master Sun can just tell them his choice.

Of course, Master Sun would not explain the specific thinking process. He only needed to let Wei Guangde know the sentence he read. Wei Guangde should have understood the meaning of "good loan" because of his intelligence.