radicalducati Chapter 82 Heroes should not be judged solely by success or failure.
Chapter 82 Heroes should not be judged solely by success or failure.
Chapter 82 Heroes should not be judged solely by success or failure.
"Brother Zhao?"
Wang You was also somewhat surprised to see Zhao Sheng; he hadn't expected such a coincidence.
"Ziqian, when did you get back?"
Zhao Sheng stepped forward with a beaming smile and said, "I was just saying that you should be arriving in the capital by now, and I was even planning to visit you at your home in the next few days."
"I just arrived in Beijing a few days ago with my grandmother and mother. There have been many things to do at home, so I haven't had a moment to myself. I hope Brother Zhao won't mind," Wang You said, bowing as he came to his senses.
"It's only because you don't drink that I'd punish you with a few drinks," Zhao Sheng said, feigning displeasure.
Wang You apologized repeatedly and exchanged pleasantries with Zhao Sheng for a while before looking at the seven or eight-year-old girl beside him and asking, "And who is this?"
""
"This is my younger sister. She's the ninth child in her family, so you can just call her Xiao Jiu."
As Zhao Sheng spoke, he turned to his younger sister and introduced her, "Sister, this is Wang You, the Prince Qian, whom I mentioned to you before."
"Greetings, Ninth Sister." Wang You bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Young Master Wang."
Miss Zhao bowed slightly in return.
"Is this the younger sister Ziqian mentioned before?" Zhao Sheng asked, looking at Mu Jie'er beside Wang You.
"Um."
Wang You nodded and smiled, "My younger sister just arrived in Bianjing and hasn't tried Fanlou's dishes yet. I have some free time today, so I brought her to try them."
"Miss Mu, quickly greet Brother Zhao and Miss Zhao Jiu."
"Greetings, Young Master Zhao, and Miss Zhao Jiu."
Although Mu Jie'er was usually mischievous, she was, after all, a girl from a scholarly family, and Feng Shi had taught her a lot about manners.
Although he is still young, his posture and demeanor when bowing are very proper.
"You're too polite, Miss Wang."
Zhao Sheng returned the greeting and said with a smile, "Ziqian, since we've run into each other, let me treat you and your sister to a welcome dinner today."
"Brother Zhao, you're too kind. If you have something to do, you can go ahead first. We can get together properly next time," Wang You said.
"I don't have anything to do, I just came out to eat with my sister."
Zhao Sheng laughed and said, "There's nothing to do if we go back now, so I might as well chat with Ziqian."
"This is quite an expense for Brother Zhao."
Unable to refuse such hospitality, Wang You also knew a little about Zhao Sheng's personality.
If I refuse, who knows how long this drags on.
"Haha, let's go!"
Zhao Sheng grabbed Wang You's arm and led him inside, instructing the servant to clean up the private room Wang You had just used.
The servant who led the way hesitated, but considering Zhao Sheng's status, he dared not say anything more.
The private room Zhao Sheng had used was located on the third floor of the north building of Fanlou, facing the direction of the imperial palace, which offered the best view of Bianjing at night.
The little girl was held by Wang You as she looked at the scenery outside, marveling at it repeatedly, feeling like she couldn't take it all in.
Zhao Sheng had his attendants bring a chair for Mu Jie'er to stand on, and then asked his younger sister to look after Mu Jie'er. He then pulled Wang You to sit down and talk.
Wang You looked at Zhao Jiu, who was chatting and laughing with Mu Jie'er, and smiled, "Your sister is quite mature for her age."
"Her? Composed?"
Zhao Sheng almost spat out his tea as soon as he heard this.
"Cough cough cough—"
"Is Brother Zhao alright?" Wang You asked with concern.
"No—it's nothing."
Zhao Sheng waved his hand, took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and said apologetically, "I choked on my tea just now, please forgive me, Ziqian."
"But what was wrong with what I just said?" Wang You asked.
Zhao Sheng glanced in his sister's direction and saw that she was pointing outside and talking to Mu Jie'er, not paying attention to them. He whispered, "To be honest, Ziqian, I have many brothers in my family, but only one sister. Our parents dote on her, which has made her a bit spoiled. Even I, as her older brother, am a little afraid of her."
Wang You could tell from Zhao Sheng's expression, but when he looked at Miss Zhao Jiu, she didn't seem like the kind of girl who was spoiled.
However, Zhao Sheng's father was quite fertile.
There are generally two ways to rank siblings: either all siblings are ranked together, or boys and girls are ranked separately.
The most common practice now is for siblings to line up together.
In the Sheng family, there were two sons and one daughter, and the youngest, Minglan, was called the Sixth Sister.
Zhao Sheng's sister was the ninth in line, which means that Zhao Sheng had at least nine brothers and sisters.
In ancient times, having multiple wives and concubines was not considered outrageous.
Like Liu Bei's ancestor, he had more than a hundred children.
But Zhao Sheng had previously said that he was the eldest son in his family and was only fifteen years old, while his sister was about seven or eight years old.
The siblings are six or seven years apart, which means that his father had eight children during those six or seven years.
Zhao Sheng had no idea that Wang You was secretly criticizing his father. Seeing that Wang You didn't believe him, he whispered, "My sister is fine in front of outsiders, and she's always wanted a sister. She probably just likes your sister more."
Wang You didn't know how to respond to such a question, so he changed the subject, saying, "It's been a while since I last saw you, Brother Zhao, you seem even more radiant than before. Is there some good news?"
When I first met Zhao Shenggang, he looked somewhat dejected.
It's quite strange, considering they're at such a vibrant age.
Now, when we meet again, the slight dejection between his brows has completely disappeared.
His spirit and energy have changed significantly. If it weren't for the fact that his appearance hasn't changed, Wang You might not even recognize him.
"There's nothing to celebrate."
Zhao Sheng shook his head and said, "I've come to terms with it. Even if I didn't pass the prodigy exam, there's still the imperial examination in the future, right? My father is helping me find a good teacher, and once he finds one, I'll start studying under him."
"Congratulations, Brother Zhao," Wang You said, cupping his hands in greeting.
"Haha, even if I have a famous teacher to guide me, my future learning may not be able to match Ziqian's," Zhao Sheng laughed.
"Brother Zhao flatters me."
Wang You shook his head and said, "Today I went to the Hanlin Academy to take up my post, but I was met with a lot of cold treatment."
If I were truly talented, I wouldn't have thought of entering officialdom through the prodigy exam; I would have waited for the imperial examination.
It was precisely because he wasn't confident he could pass the imperial examinations that he considered taking the prodigy test.
"Ziqian, don't be modest."
Zhao Sheng smiled and said, "We've known each other for so long, and some of your views are thought-provoking."
And so what if you are not as talented as others? Knowledge is knowledge, and being an official is being an official.
It's not that having good academic knowledge guarantees becoming a good official. Otherwise, why would officials be promoted based on performance evaluations? They could simply be promoted according to their ranking in the imperial examinations.
"I'm just talking big. If you really asked me to do it, I'd probably be no better than Zhao Kuo, who only talked about war on paper," Wang You said, shaking his head.
This wasn't him being modest; having memories of two lifetimes, he viewed things from a different perspective than others.
It's not that he's smarter than others, it's just that others are limited by the times, while he isn't.
"I don't think Zhao Kuo was really as bad as the historical records describe."
Zhao Sheng countered, "Zhao Kuo offered a strategy in the Battle of Maiqiu, which led to the capture of the city without bloodshed, demonstrating that he was quite capable."
His defeat was only because he was facing Bai Qi, and even after being besieged in the Battle of Changping, with his supply lines cut off and his army's morale collapsing, he was still able to stabilize his army for dozens of days without a large-scale defection, which shows how strong his abilities were.
If it had been another general from Qin, even if they were outmatched, they might not have been defeated.
"Brother Zhao's assessment is quite accurate." Wang You looked at Zhao Sheng with some surprise.