Emperor Que Shaohua

The three days of autumn were over, and the candidates who had been thinking hard poured out of the examination room as if they had died once.

Zhao Mian walked out of Fengtian Gongyuan, and looked back at the four characters "Tiankai Wenyun" on the gate tower. This is not the first time he has walked out of the examination room and looked back at the same place. At the age of 19, he won the imperial examination, and the government tried to solve the Yuan Dynasty, and became famous in his hometown for a while.However, the family suffered major changes, and the time passed in [-], from complacent to disheartened.It is a place where the green hills can bury the bones, and he is alone in the heavy rain. He has experienced this state of mind very early.He gradually learned to give up his career in the imperial examinations and became really indifferent.Born in this world, there are many other things to do, even if you are wandering, it is better than defile yourself.

The decision to take the Boshin Division Examination was made this year, and the reason for this was to learn about the movements of Prince Jing's Mansion.Zhao Mian wanted to follow the right path that all scholars in the world are walking, and to a certain extent, he also hoped to accompany his friend Chen Yuanfu and a few schoolmates who have also gone through vicissitudes over the years without changing their aspirations. Give them more confidence.

There are more than [-] examination numbers in Fengtian Gongyuan. After they entered the arena, they dispersed and found their respective positions according to the examination cards.He had been very worried about Chen Yuanfu's condition, but luckily he hadn't heard of any Juzi fainting in three days.At this time, he had no time to express his gratitude, so he stood still outside the gatehouse, looking for his friend.Master Sun Shu could no longer live there, so he had to find a place to settle down before recuperating.

At this time, someone greeted not far away: "Mr. Zhao, we are waiting for you here."

He searched for the sound and looked forward. Among the many cars coming and going to pick up people, there were two light carriages parked side by side. The person in front of the car was waving at him. He was a servant who often followed Yang Yue to do things in Prince Jing's mansion. , Beside him, a small attendant was supporting the haggard Chen Yuanfu, and another was helping him carry the test box.

"Mr. Zhao, please get in the car," the servant came over with a smile, "The Lord was thinking about the end of the show today, so he told us to wait here early, and must take everyone back."

A warm feeling surged in Zhao Mian's heart. No matter what, whether they passed the exam or not, they all had a refuge.That person has always been there, quietly never saying a word, but when you need it most, the peace and warmth you give are always within reach.

He nodded, got in the car and sat beside Chen Yuanfu.

After Qiu Wei's exam, all the candidates, no matter whether they are satisfied or not, will turn their heads to rest, while in Fengtian Gongyuan, below the self-examination, the two deputy chief examiners and the twelve-room examiner began to devote themselves to non-stop intense work.After more than [-] copies of the answer sheets were collected, they had to be sealed one by one by a special person to cover up the names above, and then handed over to another group of clerks to copy them verbatim, and finally the copied copies were sent to the Go to the examiner's marking place.

The examiners had already paid homage to the statue of Confucius under the leadership of Li Furen, a scholar of Lingyange University, and swore to the Tianmeng: There is no selfishness in taking an official for the country, otherwise the gods and humans will be abandoned, and then return to their seats and start reviewing the bundles separately. answer sheet.

When the examiners read an article they are satisfied with, they will recommend it to the deputy chief examiner.After screening, the deputy chief examiner will send the answer sheets that are considered qualified to be selected to the chief examiner's case.After such layers of review, the ultimate goal is to determine the [-] best answer sheets, which will be ranked by the principal and deputy chief examiners, which will be the [-] Jinshi in the Wuchen Division.

"Xue Songnian is the head of civil servants, and there are many old disciples attached to him. The deputy chief examiner, Wang Jichang, came from his sect. I have seen the candidates for the [-]th room examiner, and at least four of them may be hindered." The carriage and horse who received him Before he came back, King Jing handed Luo Pingyuan a list of examiners whose names were circled, and said calmly.

The content of the current subject examination is now well known in the streets and alleys. Luo Pingyuan took the essay topic he found from Mr. Sun Shu's house, and it was indeed the same as the first strategy theory proposed by Emperor Tianyi himself.He wondered how the examination questions sealed by the emperor himself would be left outside, and he didn't know what impact it would have on Qiu Wei's selection of an official.There is no way to delve into this matter at the moment. It is just a strategy theory, which can be interpreted as a chance to bet on the topic.

Luo Pingyuan already understood why King Jing was worried, and when Zhao Mian and his party were taken to the mansion, his worries also aggravated greatly.

Although there was an incident that Chen Yuanfu was drugged before the exam, all the candidates only regarded Sun Shushi as a teacher out of jealousy, and did not link this matter with the essay writing meeting, thinking that the essay that had been carefully deliberated and discussed at that time happened to be awarded. Therefore, apart from Zhao Mian, only one of the seven people re-wrote the problem, and the rest wrote the articles from the Wenhui. Even Chen Yuanfu himself, because he was dizzy from the fever, did not write another essay. .In this way, as long as those examiners who are deliberately obstructing get the information in advance, they can identify the six answer papers based on their content when marking the papers, and then demote them. .

Hearing Master Sun Shu's confession, Zhao Mian said: "No wonder, when I was waiting outside the Gong Yuan, I always felt that someone was always looking at us, as if staring at Brother Chen viciously. Maybe it was the envoy. who has received silver."

"It's all over now, you can live here with peace of mind, He Ling needs to take care of his health." Jing Wang smiled and ordered a side courtyard for the eight people, without mentioning his speculations and worries.

Zhao Mian saw that his expression seemed to be uncontested, so he wanted to stay in Lancang for a while.He was originally a son of an official, and compared to Chen Yuanfu and others who came from a poor background, he knew better how shameless the strife in the officialdom could be, and he had already vaguely guessed it.But Luo Yanhua said: "Fanxi also go to rest, I want to discuss some heresy with His Highness the Fifth Highness, if you study Confucianism and become an official, you want to be upright and upright, so don't listen."

Zhao Mian then withdrew.Luo Pingyuan couldn't help laughing when he thought that his elder brother had said similar things to him. It seemed that there was a countermeasure and he needed to contribute to it.

He said: "Brother Emperor, the Tribute Court is now tightly sealed. Unless you are ordered by the emperor, you can't enter. Besides, even if you sneak in, it's not easy to ask the examiner to review the papers."

"It's really not suitable for His Royal Highness King Ning to enter the forbidden area privately. One time is enough." Jing Wang smiled and said, "The list will be released on the eighth day of September. Before that, the only person who can intervene to influence the result is the father." Your Majesty. The original purpose of the imperial examination is to seek talents for the country. Your Majesty attaches great importance to the current imperial examination. Now that he has thought about rectifying the imperial examination, he needs new talents even more. Both He Ling and Fan Xi's articles are on fire .So I thought, I might as well find an opportunity to mention them in front of my father."

Luo Pingyuan understood that if Emperor Tianyi could notice the talents of Chen Yuanfu and others, and learn that they had also participated in the current subject examination, it might turn things around, and it was worth a try.It's just that with Emperor Tianyi's suspicion and jealousy, how to bring it up requires some thought. It's impossible to just take Chen Yuanfu's policy and discuss it for the emperor to read.

He then nodded and said: "Brother Huang has all kinds of tricks in his pocket, all of them fall on me to do it."

"It's not a clever plan, anyway, we need to make some detours, so that the father can take it to heart." King Jing sighed, "Fortunately, there are still a few days, we have done a more comprehensive job, I'm afraid we have to ask Xue Ning to help help."

In the duty room of the Tribute Court, Li Furen's book case was placed in the middle, with Wang Jichang and Yang Zhaohe as deputy examiners on the left and right, and twelve examiners busy at their desks.

It is really tedious and difficult to review the scores of more than [-] answer sheets in just ten days.After several days in a row, everyone was dizzy and their eyelids were swollen.

Wang Jichang picked up a recommendation paper that had just been sent up, looked at the first policy discussion, and cracked the title: Border beards have been infested since ancient times.When the Han Dynasty was strong and the Tang Dynasty flourished, the kings and masters were expelled outside Qilian, and when the dynasties changed, there was a danger of chaos and chaos.Take Yu Zhou as the rich sea, the sage king candle the sky, the family and the country as the foundation, the ritual and righteousness as the faith, the six concentrics, the soldiers and horses, and the education, so there is no need to worry about side troubles.

He didn't look any further.He had already seen the same problem and discussion before the exam, and he actually felt that the writing of this article was quite flexible, the transition was mature, the concept was very correct, and the level should be in the top two.He even remembered that the person who wrote this theory should be named Xu Jimo.But this person is one of the few people Xue Fuzheng specifically asked him to "take care of". He has already received quite obvious hints and a list, not to let the eight people on it be selected.Of course, he still has some names in his hands that need to be taken care of on the list, but the auxiliary government obviously pays more attention to the former matter.

Wang Jichang put this answer sheet directly into a pile of discarded papers on the side of the table. He didn't understand how a few exam exams could seriously offend the teacher, but he didn't want to get into the details, so he just obeyed.No matter how talented you are, you still need luck to cross the Longmen Pass of the test. It can only be said that those people have bad luck.

From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the two chief and deputy examiners. Li Furen was somewhat at odds with Xue Songnian in terms of political views, and he was known for being upright and upright.Fortunately, there are thousands of papers, the examiner should not have time to take care of a few of them.And Yang Zhaohe has a gentle and easy-going temperament, so he shouldn't be against him.In addition to reviewing the recommendation papers, the deputy chief examiner also has the privilege of searching for failed papers.If you find that there are missing jewels in the answer sheets that were discarded by the examiners, you can directly recommend them to the chief examiner, which means to check for omissions and fill in the gaps, so as not to miss talents.Wang Jichang was very active in this matter, and he got 5000 taels of silver for the two lists in his hand, so he needed to be loyal.

After a few days, he confirmed that out of the eight people, five answer papers had already been rejected by several obedient examiners and himself. One of the two was elected by Yang Zhaohe, and Li Furen had already passed, but that person was not Chen Yuanfu, who was the most talented, and should only be in the top three.The last one is probably another problem, and there is nothing I can do.This result has been accounted for in the past.He saw Chen Yuanfu's answer sheet in the final exam, and his face remained calm, but he felt a little grateful in his heart that such an excellent essay was not judged by himself, but was not recommended by the examiner, which relieved him of the responsibility.On the contrary, he needs to take care of the few failed papers. Although the first question is mostly done by someone in advance, the quality is not bad, but the other theories, especially the poems, are unavoidably unsatisfactory. He brushed it down relentlessly, and said lightly: "No matter how much Mr. Wang cherishes talents, he must see clearly that they are indeed talents before taking them. Don't act too hastily."

This is already quite a severe warning. During the process of reviewing papers, the examiners and the chief examiner also had disputes from time to time, mainly because the answer paper he recommended was judged to be rejected and they had to fight hard according to the text. But Wang Jichang had a ghost in his heart, how dare he object to the chief examiner , He even suspected that his purpose had been seen through.

Li Furen clicked to the end, and didn't pay much attention to the matter. The four hundred answer sheets had been neatly coded on the desk in front of him.He glanced at every examiner in the room whose eyes were dazzled due to too many papers, and said slowly: "If you have no other opinions, we will start to rank the new Jinshi for this subject."

In the past few days, there were no major incidents in Prince Jing's Mansion, but minor incidents continued.

Feng Jingyi and his entourage received the imperial edict and went to the palace to visit the Emperor, expressing their gratitude to the Holy Majesty for seeing through the traitors in Mount Hua and saving the younger brother.In fact, these two things mainly came from the help of King Ning and King Jing, but to enter the palace, it is natural that all the credit should be attributed to the emperor.Emperor Tianyi wanted to offer a reward, but Feng Jingyi refused, saying that it is my generation's duty to contribute to the country, and my brothers and sisters are just following the tail, and dare not receive more grace.The words are very sincere, and they are full of gratitude and praise to the eldest prince and the fifth prince.

Emperor Tianyi saw that he was neither humble nor overbearing, and had a dignified demeanor, so he felt a love of talents, and asked how many of them would stay in Luo City to serve the court.Feng Jingyi looked at the two juniors around her, and thanked her politely: "To be summoned by His Majesty today is a great honor for three lives. It's not because my seniors don't want to serve in the court, it's just that the teacher is very kind and the master is still waiting When we go back, the court also needs support. Your Majesty’s kindness will never be forgotten in this life, and in the future, if there is an order from the imperial court, Jingyi will definitely do her best to live up to the grace of heaven.”

"What a worthy one." Emperor Tianyi said, although he was slightly disappointed, but thinking of Luo Pingyuan's words about the tragic situation of the Huashan faction being plotted against by the Kunlun Mansion, he also knew that Feng Jingyi was not evasive, and wanted to keep him The first disciple is indeed unlikely.

One of the two Kongtong disciples is willing to join the Jingyu Guard, but he needs to write a letter first to obtain the consent of the elders in the sect.There are quite a few Kongtong sect disciples, and the school rules are relatively loose, so it should be allowed.The relationship between the imperial court and the martial arts sect had been tense for several years after the incident in Langhuan. Now, after going through a lot of ups and downs, they finally started to build trust again.

Emperor Tianyi wished to show lenient peace, and decreed to bestow Huashan School with a gold and jade Ruyi handle and a Qingfeng sword. Although it could not be compared with King Ning's Chunjun, it still represented the court's honor and favor.There are also other rewards for the Kongtong faction.

Another thing is that when the army escorting food and salaries returned from the northern border, Luo Pingyuan saw Deputy Commander Yu Chiyan who had returned with ten Jingyu cavalry guards and hundreds of soldiers, but Lin Chen was nowhere to be seen.

The return journey of Yu Chiyan and his party was much faster than when they went there, and they traveled for a total of 25 days.He stayed in Shao'an for a period of time before and after, and brought back a lot of news from the border.

Emperor Tianyi summoned Yu Chiyan in Qingliang Hall and asked in detail about the battle situation in the northern border.In addition to King Ning, there is also Princess Danyang who has to come over quickly to listen in the hall.

The days when Yu Chiyan left Shao'an and when Lin Chen wrote the letter were very close, so what they saw and described were not far from each other.Emperor Tianyi asked about the city defense setup, the soldiers and horses of the Northern Liao Dynasty, and even the weapons and tactics used by both sides.He has been concerned about the war and asked very detailed questions.Yu Chiyan is by nature taciturn, so asking him to describe it now is more difficult than practicing martial arts.

Luo Pingyuan listened to him and said: "When I was in the city, the Liao people tried to attack the city, but His Royal Highness was well-defended. The moat was removed outside the city, and two five-foot-high earthen walls had already been built. The crossbow is facing the enemy. If the enemy approaches, they will throw thunder and fire bombs. The Northern Liao cavalry cannot approach, and they can only return in vain. His Highness is currently stepping up training to make the newly arrived reinforcements and the defenders cooperate tacitly. On the Northern Liao side, except for General Yu Muli Leading the army, their fourth prince Yelu Shiji also personally came to supervise the army."

Luo Xuening was originally engrossed, but she couldn't help laughing when she heard this, and endured it very hard.

Seeing this, Emperor Tianyi glared at her: "Xue Ning must be big or small, she just wants to listen, and it's fine if I don't drive you away. What's so ridiculous about talking about important military affairs now?"

Princess Danyang felt that she was not dignified enough, so she quickly suppressed her smile: "It's my daughter who is not good, and my father forgives me. I just suddenly thought that this Liao man is really strange. His surname is Wild Donkey, and he said that his fourth prince is a chicken." .”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall couldn't help laughing, even the maids and maids hurriedly covered their mouths with their sleeves.

Luo Pingyuan couldn't hold back anymore, and said with a smile: "Xue Ning, although the name of the fourth prince of the Northern Liao Dynasty is a bit misleading, he is very brave and warlike, and he is the favorite of the Liao Lord. It is obvious that he is sent to supervise the battle. It is inevitable, and it cannot be taken lightly.”

"Ping Yuan is right. When two countries are at war, everything needs to be treated with caution." Emperor Tianyi held back a smile and said, the prince of a country should know the situation of the enemy country, but he can say it casually, which shows that he is always caring.

He asked about King Yun's preparations in detail. From Yuchiyan's succinct narration, he could still feel the tension and order in the northern border: the army was well-trained, and many battle formations and weapons had been improved so that it would be easier to fight when the battle was over. exert greater power.The emperor was both satisfied and slightly shocked. The performance of the fourth prince exceeded his expectations.

He couldn't help but think of the phrase "Sirius hides its darkness, and the battle can be stopped", will the battle situation really develop like this?Then, "The country is lucky, the rivers and rivers are clear" refers to the elimination of the Qing dynasty?The emperor still thinks about the verse that Luo Pingyuan Yicheng brought back when he returned, because the meaning in it always gave him an indescribable sense of satisfaction. Have all the famous emperors who have gone down in history felt the same way?

Ning Wang Shangzuo asked for credit for the cavalry guards who had just returned from the northern border.Yu Chiyan protected food along the way, and repelled the Liao people's raids many times, especially when he won the encirclement and suppression of Pinwutang, he should be rewarded.Another deputy commander, Shen Ling, has also done a lot of meritorious deeds recently.In addition to rewarding silver, Emperor Tianyi promoted the official ranks of the two to one level each, but their titles were still deputy commanders. The ten Jingyu cavalry guards who escorted the grain and grass were also rewarded, and those who died in the battle were generously compensated.

After Yuchiyan thanked her for withdrawing, Luo Xuening took out a neatly bound scroll written on jade paper from her sleeve, which was a handwritten Buddhist scriptures, and presented it to Emperor Tianyi: "Xue Ning these days I heard about the accident at the Huang Temple, which worried my father, and my daughter didn't know what to do, so I helped Brother Wu Huang copy a volume of scriptures, and wanted to send them to the temple together with his "Diamond Sutra", I wonder if it will work?"

The servant presented the scriptures, and when Emperor Tianyi took it over to read, it was a volume of "Ksitigarbha Sutra" with beautiful handwriting, which could be seen to be very serious, so he couldn't help but nodded approvingly: "It is both filial piety and compassion, Xue Ning has done a very good job. good."

He flipped through a few pages and said: "Now that I can calm down and write, I have indeed made progress, but the structure and method are still a little off and still need to be tempered. You might as well ask Ping Yuan for advice." Among the two princes, Prince Ning's calligraphy is the best, tall and straight, strong and well-proportioned, while the prince is more mature, but less restrained, and his expression is somewhat inferior.

"My son's scriptures can be copied in a day or two, and I want to ask my father to have a look at them." Luo Pingyuan said, feeling a little moved in his heart. The passages of "Ksitigarbha Sutra" are extremely long, and Luo Xuening copied them. Many, not only because of their own request, but also because they wanted to help save the souls of the Emperor Temple.

He said: "Father, can I let my ministers also look at the calligraphy of my sister?"

The servants in the palace brought the scriptures to King Ning, Luo Pingyuan slowly flipped through them, and said with a smile: "Father sees clearly that Xue Ning's calligraphy skills are very good, very elegant, but the pen is a little too strong. Yi Erchen From my point of view, if you want to make further progress, you might as well try to write the Guange style, which is the most restrained."

Guange style is a common font used by the imperial court. Scholars must practice it carefully, because no matter answering questions in scientific examinations or writing for officials, they must use this font to write. Without a good handwriting, even the threshold cannot be stepped on.However, there is little practice in the palace boudoir.

"Since you say that, I'll give it a try." Luo Xuening said with a smile, "Brother Huang wrote me a few copybooks. After I practice, I want to copy another copy of the "Avatamsaka Sutra" to pray for my father. .”

"In recent years, I have been practicing Ouyang Xun style, and I really can't write the template that the imperial sister wants." Luo Pingyuan thought for a while, "But I have a few friends who are good at Guange style, and the writing style is as good as everyone's. Feng. If the imperial sister is willing to practice, I will bring you some of their calligraphy tomorrow."

"It's really that good?" Luo Xuening seemed dissatisfied, she wrinkled her nose and smiled, "Everyone can write, how many of you can come out of it? Could it be that Brother Wu Huang didn't write me a copybook because of his own laziness? The cow is here, I will ask Father to taste it."

"Since I said it, how could it be a lie? Well, when I bring it, if the emperor agrees, how about Xue Ning embroidering a sachet for me?" Luo Pingyuan laughed.

Emperor Tianyi didn't care much about his daughter's handwriting, but thought that it would be a good thing for a girl to practice calligraphy at home, so that she could learn to be more gentle and quiet.There are many civil servants in his court who are good at calligraphy, and they don't take everyone's words to heart.It's just that seeing the two brothers and sisters discussing calligraphy practice, they found it very interesting, so they smiled and nodded as a promise.