After a while, he came back with two people.
Li Longji knew one of them, Wei Zhigu, the current Minister of Works. As for the other one … who was he?
Seventh-rank officials were too small in Chang 'an. Only fifth-rank officials were allowed to attend the court assembly and stand outside.
They watched as this seventh-rank official walked over with a cautious expression, his back bent and his head lowered.
Zhang Shuo spoke first, "This is the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Water. This is Cheng Gu, a good friend of mine. He has some connections in Chang 'an."
Zhang Shuo introduced Wei Zhigu. He had nothing to say about the minor official Zheng Guang.
Wei Zhigu nodded with a smile and said, "This is Zheng Guang. He works in the Ministry of Water. He's a distant nephew of mine. I told him about the good water in Zhuangzi, so he insisted on coming here to learn."
When the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Water was introduced, his body trembled slightly. When Wei Zhigu finished, he squeezed out a smile as fast as he could and said, "Yes, I, I want to learn."
He wanted to cry and complained inwardly, You are the Minister. I listened to you and came here.
But you didn't tell me that His Majesty, King Song, and Prime Minister Zhang were here. The woman beside His Majesty was obviously Empress Wang.
I didn't come here to die in your hands, but in His Majesty's, right?
When Li Longji saw Wei Zhigu, he suddenly stopped being angry. Brother Yi said that Wei Zhigu's health was not good and he would probably die in the winter.
It was because he was demoted from Prime Minister to Minister. He had to reestablish his relationship with his colleagues. It was not easy to maintain relationships.
Li Yi smiled and saluted, "I didn't know that Minister Zheng would come in person. Please forgive me for not welcoming you."
"Brother Yi, you don't have to be like this. You're just a seventh-rank official. We can't lower ourselves." Li Chengqi was unhappy.
We were happy to talk with Brother Yi. You're just a seventh-rank official. Do we have to follow you around?
You're the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Water. Do you know more about the irrigation of the Tang dynasty than Brother Yi?
Zheng Guang's heart almost jumped out. He bowed to the ground and said, "Li Dongzhu, please don't be like this. I heard that Li Dongzhu has many good prescriptions. Today, I came to beg you."
"Officer Zheng, there's no need to be so polite. If you have something to say, please say it. My words carry little weight and I have many inadequacies. I'll let you point them out for me."
Li Yi does not want to offend officials. Small officials have some power, and they will find trouble.
"Let's not talk about it yet. I'm still waiting to see the scenery." Li Chengqi continued to protect Li Yi.
"Yes." Zheng Guang nodded vigorously.
Li Chengqi turned to Li Yi and said, "Brother Yi, don't worry about him. We are relatives of the Imperial Family and have our own methods."
Zheng Guang wanted to cry again. Are you an ordinary member of the royal family? Don't you know who's beside you?
I can't afford to offend anyone here, but from the looks of it, I won't die.
Li Longji opened his mouth, his voice was gentle, "Let's walk together, look at the paddy field, look at the duck pond, see how the waterwheel on the Ba River works."
"Yes!" Zheng Guang was very touched that His Majesty did not blame him.
Wei Zhigu was also worried. 'Today, His Majesty came here again. What's the matter with you?' 'Aren't you going to rest?'
Everyone walked around. Li Longji felt relieved. At the same time, he prepared to go back and warn some people not to come here. 'This is my place, mine.'
Zheng Guang walked at the back and carefully observed Zhuangzi's situation.
Don't they throw the seeds when they plant rice? Do they plant them? The seedlings are growing so big.
Are those people from the Zhang Family's village? They are cleaning up the feces of the chickens and ducks and putting them into baskets. They should be used to make fertilizer.
There is a row of waterwheels beside the Ba River, and there are also craftsmen working there.
The waterwheels draw water to shallow ponds, and some people throw food into the ponds for the ducks.
There are so many ducklings that they fall down while running.
He heard about the threshing and shelling machines that are connected to the waterwheels. There are also people from outside Zhuangzi transporting wheat to be threshed.
A group of people dressed as students are there … to watch the fun?
You guys are really carefree. You didn't pass the imperial examinations this year, but you are not worried. You have the leisure to watch others work.
While Zheng Guang was thinking about it, the students also saw them.
Zheng Guang was wearing an official's uniform. The uniform of a seventh-rank official was also an official's uniform.
"The students who rent rooms in the Zhang Family's village don't want to get scholarly honors." Li Chengqi saw those people and was not happy.
One by one, they were laughing and pointing at each other.
After he spoke, the students suddenly changed, as if they heard what he said.
They put away their smiles and tidied up their appearance.
Then they walked over. They seemed to have a good temperament.
"Brother Li, please." A person with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and a wide mouth stood out. He had a dignified appearance.
Li Yi clasped his hands. "Brother, please."
"Brother Li, you are sightseeing here. Do you not know the worries of autumn?"
"May I ask who you are …" Li Yi didn't know the other person. Why did he come up and give me pointers?
"I am Zhao Xu of Mount Heng, Thirteenth Wang of Mount Heng," the person called Zhao Xu replied.
Li Yi was a bit confused. There are many people with the surname Zhao in Mount Heng. Where did this Thirteenth Wang of yours come from?
"Oh, so it's Thirteenth Wang. Brother Zhao, please." Li Yi played along.
"Brother Yi, do you know the worries of autumn?" Zhao Xu continued the previous topic.
"What worries?" Li Yi felt that this person was taking advantage of the situation. From Li Dongzhu to Brother Li, then to Brother Yi, how did you know I was so close to you?
"There are four worries. The first is the worry of not having enough rice to put into the pot. "
"The second is the worry of the increase and decrease of crops after the autumn harvest."
"The third is the worry of not having enough money to rent."
"The fourth is the worry of winter coming and the bitter cold is hard to endure."
Zhao Xu rattled off four points in a clear and organized manner.
After he finished speaking, he stood there and waited.
He waited and waited, but no one spoke.
Li Yi finally understood what was going on. These students wanted to show their faces in front of the officials and people who were obviously wealthy.
It meant that they had no way to donate and wanted to meet someone who could identify them.
Li Longji and the others also knew that if they wanted to donate, the problem was that they only said the four worries. Who could control them?
Empress Wang wanted to laugh, but she forced herself to hold it back.
She looked at the students and then at Li Yi. She became more and more satisfied.
She thought to herself, You guys can't do it. The court doesn't lack people like you. What it lacks are geniuses like Uncle.
Zhao Xu was embarrassed. He was waiting for the nobleman to ask about the specific worries so that he could show off his talent. In the end, he didn't answer. What was the meaning of this?
Fortunately, he was nimble and immediately changed the topic.
"Brother Yi, I watched you plant rice on your farm and composed a poem," Zhao Xu said.
Li Yi looked at him. In the end, his heart softened and he said, "Please recite it, Thirteenth Wang."
"Listen well. People without learning work hard. It's hard to understand what the disciples of heaven can do. Bending down to plant rice without seeing the sun, step by step, time grinds away. "
Zhao Xu said.
Li Yi's pupils constricted. He was dissatisfied.
The other person said that people without learning had to do hard work. If they didn't understand the higher laws of heaven, then there was nothing they could do. They could only plant rice with their heads down, unable to see the sun. In the end, their lives would be the same as their current work, step by step, time passing.
But people who worked relied on their own ability to live. Was that wrong?
It was a sin to belittle the working people.
"Good poem." Li Yi cupped his hands and didn't want to say anything more.
He turned his head and said to Li Longji and the others, "Shall we go and see the construction of the sixth biogas pool?"
Li Longji nodded.
Li Yi turned and walked in another direction. The others followed him.
The students were dumbfounded. Leave? Don't go. Listen to us. Then admire us. Then ask us to recommend you.
"Brother Yi, do you have any pointers for my humble work?" Zhao Xu said loudly.
"No. It's a good poem. I'll recite it more later." Li Yi turned back and cupped his hands again.
Everyone walked for a while. Zhao Xu was anxious. "Li Dongzhu, everyone says that the Three Character Classic was written by you, but we don't believe it."
"Wait a minute." Li Chengqi was unhappy. He turned his head and looked at the students.
Li Longji frowned.
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