The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After receiving the notice from the Ministry of Rites, Wei Guangde packed up his clothes and headed to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites early the next morning.

This time when he arrived at the gate of the Rites Yamen, the clerk at the door very attentively invited him into the second gate and rested in the public room.

"The adults still have important matters to attend to. Once they're taken care of, I'll send you in as soon as possible."

The little official said with a flattering smile, last time Wei Guangde brought someone to the door, but they were not polite to him, so now he was watching the new Jinshi with caution.

After Wei Guangde entered the room and sat down, he took a sip of the tea brought by the clerk and felt a little puzzled.

There's no one else in the room, why am I alone?

When the clerk brought tea and was about to leave, he was stopped by Wei Guangde.

"Are there any other people of my same age coming to the Yamen today?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously.

"I don't know about that. You are the first Jinshi to come to the Yamen this morning."

The clerk said with a smile.

"No one else is coming?"

Wei Guangde frowned, a little strange.

"Wei Chuanlu, how dare a junior official lie to you? So far today, you are the first Jinshi master I have ever seen."

The clerk said seriously with a smile on his face.

When Wei Guangde wanted to come, he arranged for Jinshi to come to the Ministry of Ceremonies to collect the results of the Imperial Examination. Regardless of whether he was selected to enter the Hanlin Academy or not, there should be a few talents. People like Chen Xi and Dai Ke who ranked high in the Imperial Examination should still have a few talents. It’s only right that I should be elected to the Hanlin Academy as a scholar. Why am I the only one?

Without asking for a clue, Wei Guangde had no choice but to sit down and continue drinking tea, waiting for the adults from the Ministry of Etiquette to come over and deal with his matter after finishing their official duties.

Wei Guangde was not worried about the fact that the clerk mistold him yesterday and said he was coming in the morning instead of coming in the afternoon. He did not see that he entered the Rites Yamen without any obstruction.

First of all, the little official also said that all the Jinshi will come today and tomorrow. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel have already arranged their places to watch the government, and they will all come to get the notes so that they can take up their posts in the arranged yamen.

They come, the security.

Wei Guangde didn't bother to think too much, and sat there sipping tea in small sips.

Don't tell me, this tea is not bad, it should be Mingqian tea. The aroma is very fresh and rich. I think it was picked locally before Qingming. The good ones are naturally a tribute, and the rest will be sent to the mansions of the capital and various yamen. .

Not long after, Yan Ne, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, came in, followed by a scribe.

"Wei Chuanlu has been waiting for a long time. He is really too busy with official duties. I have just come out from Lord Shangshu's place."

Wei Guangde dared to continue sitting there. When the right servant entered the room, Wei Guangde had already stood up and bowed to salute.

"Master Yan is too polite, but students don't dare to do it."

Although Wei Guangde passed the imperial examination and got an official status, he was not awarded an official position after all. He calls himself an official or a subordinate official. So what kind of official are you?

There was no other way. The Jinshi was a little embarrassed at this time. When he met the official, Wei Guangde still chose to call himself a student.

"Sit down."

Yan Ne said to Wei Guangde with a smile, waving his hand for him to sit down and talk.

Although Yan Na's surname is Yan, he has nothing to do with Yan Song's family. He is from Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili Province. He was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Jiajing. Jiajing was overjoyed, and was awarded a bachelor's degree from the Hanlin Academy. He was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, which was the first step towards the cabinet. Wei Guangde naturally did not dare to entrust him to the throne.

"Master Yan, I don't know why the students are here today."

Wei Guangde didn't become an official, so he first learned all about the officialdom and pretended to be confused.

"Haha, it's been a while since the imperial examination ended. Today and tomorrow will be the arrangements for your new subjects to go."

Yan Shilang said with a smile, and then glanced at the scribe standing beside him. The scribe immediately held a note in both hands and handed it to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde took it and saw that it was a document. Different from other Jinshi, the document did not indicate that he went to a certain Yamen to observe politics, but that he went to the Hanlin Academy to serve as a scholar.

"Go to the Hanlin Academy according to the time on the note. Yin Taiyin Zhanshi is now in charge of the affairs of the Academy. You should know him. We are all fellow countrymen, haha."

Yan Shilang continued.

After Wei Guangde collected the note, he bowed to Minister Yan and said, "Thank you, Sir."

"Don't thank me. It's just the Ministry of Etiquette that's in charge of you Jinshi scholars. That's why I sent you here. The Hanlin Academy is responsible for the imperial examinations. We only assist. We can't get involved in selecting the library."

Yan Shilang just smiled.

"Master Yan, I wonder how many people of the same year will go to the Hanlin Academy with me this time?"

Interrupted by Minister Yan, although Wei Guangde did not say the next words, he still bowed to him respectfully before asking.

When I came here today, I saw and heard something strange. I didn’t see anyone of the same age.

"You don't know yet?"

Yan Shilang was slightly surprised, then nodded, "It's normal. I only learned about it yesterday. Jinshi did not choose an institution originally. The imperial examination only arranged the place to go. Yesterday, after Yin Zhan's case was reported, His Majesty singled you out. A scholar of Hanlin Academy."

Speaking of this, Yan Shilang's eyes were full of envy and he sighed: "Wei Chuanlu's kindness is really enviable."

At this time, Wei Guangde was a little dumbfounded after hearing what Yan Shilang said.

When did he get involved with the emperor?

Jinshi in this subject actually has no plan to choose a library?

Have you become the only sage in Jinke?

Wei Guangde didn't know how to answer the question for a moment. How should he answer this?

When leaving the Rites Yamen, Wei Guangde had a note in his arms. This was his document for going to the Hanlin Academy.

After leaving the Rites Yamen and getting on Li San's carriage, Wei Guangde was still thinking about this on the way back to the Jiujiang Guild Hall. Why was the emperor so kind to him?

Zhibao Shiranui, when the Yan family passed the news, he also said that his ranking was chosen by the emperor. The Yan family knew that Wei Guangde would know this sooner or later, so they did not hide anything.

Of course, Mr. Yan Ge's role in it was not concealed. Wei Guangde naturally knew what the Yan family had done.

It can be said that without the promotion of Mr. Yan Ge, his papers would definitely not be in front of the emperor, and naturally promotion would become impossible.

At that time, Wei Guangde thought that his article was good, but now it seems that he is not that good at it.

Even if the article caught the emperor's eye, why was he admitted to the Hanlin Academy?

Well, because he was singled out by the emperor, Yan Na was envious. You must know that he has already entered the cabinet passage.

It is true that whether he will be admitted to the cabinet depends largely on the emperor's attitude, but Wei Guangde met Emperor Jiajing twice, once for the palace examination and once for the ceremony of passing on the emperor, without saying a word to him.

It is said that those in the Hanlin Academy are the prime ministers. In fact, for a large number of Hanlins, only a few can reach that point in the end.

There are actually not many ways to enter the Hanlin Academy. Generally, you stay in the Hanlin Academy until you are a bachelor or a bachelor. This is a key node. The next step is to transfer to Zhan Shifu or Taichang Temple. In addition, there are One direction is to join the Ministry, whether it is to join the Ministry of Rites or other ministries and serve as the right minister.

Generally speaking, the person the emperor likes will be transferred to the position of right minister of the Ministry of Rites, and then promoted to the left minister after passing the examination, or transferred to the position of left minister of the Ministry of Personnel and entered the cabinet.

This was a standard procedure, and most ministers who were favored by the emperor took this shortcut.

If you join the Ministry of Personnel when you join the Ministry, then you still have a chance to transfer to the Ministry of Rites. However, if it is a government office such as the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of War, generally speaking, you may never have a chance to work with the cabinet.

After all, there are only a few positions in the cabinet. Every time there is a by-election of cabinet ministers, the Minister of Rites is only one of the candidates. At the same time, competing with him are the Hanlin scholars from Taichang Temple and Zhan Shifu, as well as the ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel.

Most of these ministers came out of the Hanlin Academy after passing the exams.

Because these candidates often have the mark of Hanlin behind them, there is a saying that Fei Hanlin will not join the cabinet.

It can be said that the Ministry of Rites is the private area of ​​the Hanlin Academy in the court. Those who do not have experience in the Hanlin Academy cannot enter the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites.

Wei Guangde was born as a common man, so naturally he didn't know much about promotion in the officialdom.

But in this life, especially after coming to Beijing to take the exam, Wei Guangde collected a lot of information about previous official promotions from Xia Kefan and other Jinshi scholars, Jiujiang merchants in Beijing, and Rang Zhang Ji for research, especially when he knew that he was selected by Emperor Jiajing. After the news was passed on, my self-confidence was a little inflated, and I studied the origins of the cabinet ministers.

It is completely different from what Wei Guangde thought in the past. Most of the cabinet ministers in this period of the Ming Dynasty were not selected from the five ministerial books except the Ministry of Rites, but from the ministers of Zhan Shifu, Taichang Temple, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel. Moreover, these Most of them still have the title of Hanlin Bachelor.

As for later generations who saw that a certain cabinet minister had the title of Minister of Rites, Minister of Personnel, or Minister of Household Affairs, those were actually titles given by the emperor after joining the cabinet to improve his rank.

After all, the cabinet ministers are grand masters, and the rank of grand master is fifth grade.

In other words, most of the cabinet scholars of the Ming Dynasty entered the cabinet directly from the positions of left and right ministers in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, rather than after becoming ministers.

On the contrary, Wei Guangde clearly felt that except for the Minister of Rites, the other five ministers seemed to have no way to join the cabinet.

The reason why I talk about the position of Minister of Rites separately is because the Ministry of Rites is a Qingshui Yamen, which is relatively noble.

The only one of the six ministers who entered the cabinet without being the minister of the Ministry of Rites was Jiao Fang. He entered the cabinet as the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. However, Jiao Fang was accepted by Emperor Zhengde because he followed the eunuch Liu Jin's path.

Well, it's a bit special and can't be regarded as the norm.

This discovery surprised Wei Guangde for a long time before he thought of a possible answer.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty invented and reused the cabinet department not originally to manage the country, but to weaken the status and power of the six ministers, so that the cabinet and the six ministries could check and balance each other.

If the six ministers are included in the cabinet, it will undoubtedly increase their status and rights, especially since they can interfere unscrupulously in the affairs of the six ministries.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde was actually a little unsure about how Emperor Jiajing planned to arrange himself.

In the past, Wei Guangde appeared in the form of a minister, who was good at dealing with some problems, rather than writing poems, painting, and serving as a minister.

In this way, whether Wei Guangde enters the Imperial Academy or not does not affect his future career. At the worst, he can enter the Sixth Ministry, reach the position of Shangshu, and become one of the Sixth and Nine Ministers. It will not be in vain for him to travel through the Ming Dynasty.

But just now, he heard that Emperor Jiajing singled him out and threw him into the Hanlin Academy. This was a bit contradictory.

Are you planning to let me join the cabinet as a bachelor?

Wei Guangde was a little doubtful, but actually more than a little afraid.

Other Jinshi were delighted to be admitted to the Hanlin Academy.

Before and after Wei Guangde took the Imperial Examination, he had the same attitude toward the outside world. He wanted to be admitted to the Hanlin Academy and consult the bachelors in the academy.

Well, now that I have actually passed the exam, I am still the only one with no semicolon.

Rumor has it that his ranking in the palace examination is eye-catching, but now that the emperor has done this to him again, Wei Guangde doesn't know whether to cry or laugh.

In the past few days, Wei Guangde had received many posts from ministers of the DPRK and China, asking him to come over and have tea when he was free.

Now that there is a matter of choosing a concubine, Wei Guangde can predict that after the news spreads, more posts will fly to him.

As for why Wei Guangde didn't really want to enter the Hanlin Academy and do some hard work, well, he was afraid of the homework he had to hand in every month.

Strictly speaking, Shujishi is not an official position. According to the Ming system, Shujishi studied in the Hanlin Academy and were taught by a bachelor. To put it bluntly, Shujishi studied in the Hanlin Academy and were taught by bachelors of the Hanlin Academy.

Shujishi were noble, but they had no rights and were only reserve officials, which was why Wei Guangde felt a little disadvantaged.

In addition, if he didn't join the Shujishi in the same year, he would be an official. He would have to continue to study hard and have to submit an assignment for grading every month.

Wei Guangde positioned himself as a minister who did things, rather than a minister who was good at writing and writing. The Hanlin Academy was obviously not the place for him to stay.

As for Fei Hanlin not joining the cabinet, are cabinet ministers so easy to do?

How many concubines have there been since the Ming Dynasty developed so far, and how many people can rush forward?

As long as you can work as an official for yourself and make some money, live a happy life and have a few concubines, your life will be perfect.

With my own perspective that has surpassed the modern era for many years, as for the things that the court currently encounters, I can solve them if I can. If I can't, there will be tall people who can withstand them.

How nice to live a stress-free life, just enjoy it.

However, it is obvious that such a beautiful plan is gone forever.

Emperor Jiajing transferred himself to the Hanlin Academy as a concubine. With only a basic salary, he was afraid that he would not be able to survive in the capital, let alone earn money to support his family and take a concubine.

Wei Guangde didn't want to understand what Emperor Jiajing was planning. The carriage had already returned to the Jiujiang Guild Hall. When he got off the carriage, he was surrounded by Lao Kan and others waiting here to ask questions.

As Wei Guangde thought before, they are all scholars who are eager for the positions of Hanlin Academy and Shujishi. It's a pity that they don't have this opportunity.

Wei Guangde changed his scowl on the carriage and transformed without having to rub his face. A confident and proud smile appeared on his face.

"Look, let me tell you, Guangde is going to be a shujishi this time. Unfortunately, I was not sent this morning, and I don't know which yamen I will be assigned to watch politics."

When Lao Kan saw Wei Guangde's expression when he got out of the car, he immediately smiled and said to the other two people.

"That's that, Guangde, when did you go to the Hanlin Academy to join the Imperial Academy?"

Xia Kefan asked enviously.

"Who in this department were elected to the Hanlin Academy in the same year?"

In Lao Kanxia Kefan's envious voice, Wei Guangde was surrounded by them and entered the Jiujiang Guild Hall.