Getting Rich from Legend of Zhen Huan

Seeing the master and the disciple coming, she asked Jiang Chen to sit next to her and gently stroked his shoulder, "Brother Chen, you are already so big! I remember your birthday was in winter, and you haven't had your coming-of-age ceremony yet!"

Jiang Chen held back his tears and boasted like a child, "Yes! When I was born, it was the first snow in the capital that year. My mother said I was a snowman! Auntie, Chen'er came here today to tell you the good news! Chen'er passed the imperial examination and is now the champion!"

The old lady said with pride: "Chen'er is most like Guang'er in studying. It is Guang'er's blessing to have a disciple like you." After saying that, she asked the maid to take out the box that had been prepared long ago.

The old lady introduced herself: "This one is a gift I prepared for you when Brother Chen passes the palace examination; the other one is for your coming-of-age ceremony when you turn 20. The last one is for your mother. She has had a hard life, so Brother Chen needs to spend more time with her."

As the voice gradually faded, Jiang Chen supported the old lady and wanted to call for help, but Li Guangdi waved his hand, sniffed her breath, breathed a sigh of relief, carried his mother back to the bedroom, covered her with a quilt, and led Jiang Chen out of the room.

After leaving the room, Li Guangdi explained, "Mother is really out of energy. This has happened several times before. But when she is awake, she is no different from an ordinary person. As for the box, it was given to me by mother. Chen'er will keep it."

Li Guangdi did not let Jiang Chen refuse, so Jiang Chen had no choice but to take the box and leave the Li Mansion. Before getting on the carriage, he looked back at this magnificent house, feeling sad that he would never see the kind old man again next time he came.

After returning to the mansion, Jiang's mother saw the box and knew the reason. She couldn't stop crying. Back then, she and Jiang Chen lived in Li's mansion together. The old lady was afraid that she would feel uncomfortable, so she often asked her to join in activities and introduce her to the people in the mansion. Jiang's mother always remembered this kindness. Now, the old lady has not much time left, but she still cares about them, which is really touching.

Liu Youyou followed Jiang Chen's perspective and had known the old lady for many years. According to historical records, Li Guangdi's mother died in April of the 33rd year of Kangxi's reign. Liu Youyou knew this, but when it really came to this, she would still feel sad for the loss of life. She secretly copied the "Ksitigarbha Sutra" and "Medicine Master Sutra" for the old lady and placed them in front of the Buddha to express her feelings.

On March 15, the newly-appointed candidates, wearing uniform robes, hats and boots, lined up in two rows according to their ranking in the imperial examination under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites. Single names were in the east row, and double names were in the west row. At this time, the princes and officials also stood inside and outside the imperial examination steps in court robes. Jiang Chen was only 19 years old, and he was obviously young and fresh among the candidates in their 30s. In addition, he was the protagonist of this palace examination, so everyone's eyes were focused on Jiang Chen.

The other candidates were physically exhausted when they entered the gate of the Forbidden City for the first time. If the Ministry of Rites had not instructed them not to behave improperly in front of the palace, there would have been several candidates who appeared to be dreaming. Jiang Chen was also nervous, but he was thinking more about the upcoming exam. No matter how he wrote, the result was doomed. But Jiang Chen still hoped not to give anyone a handle.

Everything was ready. The whips were blown, the drums and music played, and Kangxi took his seat. The presiding Grand Secretary took out the test papers from the yellow table in the hall and handed them to the officials of the Ministry of Rites to place on the yellow table on the steps. Everyone bowed to Kangxi together, and the Ministry of Rites began to distribute the test papers. After the candidates knelt to receive them, they went to the test table in the hall to answer the questions.

As the first one, Jiang Chen was the first to get the test paper. After writing down his resume for three generations and his name, place of origin, age, etc. on the first half of the answer sheet, Jiang Chen began to look at the questions. The question on the paper was, "The Yellow River has been flooding continuously. After several years of management, there has been no improvement. You, the wise men, are more reasonable than those useless people who neglect their duties, follow bad habits, and engage in corruption. Do you have any solution to this problem?" (The original question is at the end. This is a rough translation by the stupid author. Please forgive me for any inaccuracies.)

The Yellow River was constantly flooded, which was always a hidden worry in Emperor Kangxi's heart. Every year, the river broke, and every year, the river was controlled. After Jin Fu, a great minister of flood control, was sacrificed because of Emperor Kangxi's weighing of pros and cons, Wang Xincheng, the governor of Xinhe River, was found out for embezzling money for river control in the 31st year of Emperor Kangxi's reign. The person who was promoted to the position later was even more mediocre and incompetent. The Yellow River, which had improved due to Jin Fu's many years of control, began to wreak havoc every year again, but where could we find another Jin Fu?

Most of the exam questions in recent years are related to the management of the Yellow River and related affairs. This question is indeed easy to guess, but difficult to answer.

First of all, how to control the Yellow River is a great subject. Even Jin Fu's "Eight Treatises on Controlling the Yellow River" followed the "restraining water and attacking sand" of Pan Jixun of the Ming Dynasty, that is, dredging the river, opening more diversion channels, and using river water to wash away the silt to ensure the normal passage of the canal. He creatively proposed the "remote embankment" plan, that is, building another dam outside the main river embankment to prevent floods from breaking the embankment. In addition, Jin Fu also proposed the plan of digging a "middle river" so that the canal ships can avoid the shallow and sandy sections of the Yellow River and pass through the newly dug river section, which can greatly improve the passage efficiency.

But such a capable official, in order to control the flood, did not live in the government office, but lived and ate at the flood control site. Wasn't it because he could not take into account the friendship of his colleagues that he was overthrown? It is said that "learning civil and martial arts, and selling to the emperor's family", this flood control effort is not worth it, and he has to stay away from the political center for many years. Once the capital becomes suspicious, won't his official career be over? It's not worth it, it's not worth it.

Everyone knows that following Jin Fu's path is the right thing to do, but who wants to be Jin Fu?

Li Guangdi had done a lot of research on river management and taught Jiang Chen a lot of relevant knowledge. So Jiang Chen followed the ideas of his predecessors and wrote a policy paper. The main idea of ​​the article was that the Eight Methods for Managing the Yellow River was very meaningful for reference. Students believed that there were other methods, which needed to be adapted to local conditions and could not be copied. River management also requires coordinating related affairs, and people's livelihood should not be ignored. (The real idea of ​​the stupid author is to let the water management do the work of water management, and then have someone who can assist and coordinate all parties. But Jiang Chen couldn't write like this, he could only say some nonsense. He hasn't become an official yet, so he can't just comment on government affairs!)

Don't forget to start the article with "I have heard something", and end it with "I am a new student, ignorant of taboos, and I have dared to defy your majesty. I am terrified and want to offend you. I respectfully reply." It doesn't need many words, about a thousand words is enough.

After Jiang Chen carefully copied and organized the answer sheet, he dared to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. However, when he looked up, he found the person he had ignored while concentrating on answering the questions. A bright yellow figure was standing next to the table, and he didn't know how long he had been looking at him.

Just after finishing the test paper, he hadn't even had time to relax when he encountered something that made his heart beat slower. However, Jiang Chen didn't dare to look up at the emperor, so he could only lower his head cautiously and pretend to check the test paper. Kangxi, who was standing by, also felt that this was too much of an honor, so he walked over to check on the progress of other people's test papers.

Liu Youyou, who was also peeking at the screen, couldn't help but complain that Kangxi was like a lit firecracker, and wherever he went, he would "startle a bunch of herons." Yes, how could Liu Youyou miss such a grand event, such rare materials, she said that if she didn't figure out everyone's reactions and article comments, she would be ashamed to face the teachers!

As the sky gradually darkened, a young eunuch quietly lit a bright candle in the hall. The candidates who had not finished writing were even more anxious to write. The lighting of the candle meant that it was time to collect the papers. Sure enough, not long after, someone notified Kangxi that the time had come. Kangxi coughed lightly and said, "The time has come, students, please stop writing!"

No one dared to act unruly in the hall, so they could only stop writing and let the officials take their test papers and seal them one by one. Even so, the confused candidates could not relax. They had to maintain etiquette, bow to the emperor and leave, and walk out of the palace gracefully.

Exhausted, Jiang Chen barely managed to keep his body straight and exchanged pleasantries with his classmates. After all, those who could participate in the palace examination were basically those who had achieved academic success. Even in order not to offend anyone in advance, Jiang Chen had to keep in touch. Fortunately, everyone was very tired, and the palace gate was not a vegetable market. They nodded to each other, said a few words of blessing, and then left.