The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde did not go back to the courtyard directly. He was reminded by Li Fang that he thought of today's imperial examination and that the gambling house would be closed in the next two days.

He changed direction, exited the side door of the palace, and found his coachman Li San.

"You go back to Zhang Ji now and ask him to take a thousand taels of silver out to the gambling house. He is the top candidate in the imperial examination. Ask him to bet on Xu Shixing. Bet separately. Don't bet in one gambling house."

Wei Guangde quickly ordered Li San.

King Yu knew that when betting on the top prize, he had to place his bets in several gambling houses in the capital, not because he was afraid that the gambling house owners would dare to take advantage of others.

If you dare to take money from Prince Yu's Mansion, you won't want to live anymore.

However, if you place bets separately and win, the gambling house will not suffer too much loss.

It's easy to make money, so why bother with extraneous things.

Because Wang Xijue won Huiyuan, everyone in the capital seems to be optimistic about him winning the top prize this time. According to Zhang Juzheng, it seems that if you buy Wang Xijue, you will lose six out of ten, and if you buy Xu Shixing, you will lose eight out of ten. There are others such as Yu Youding, Zhang The courtiers and others will examine the top-ranked Gongsheng students.

Their odds are higher, but the probability of winning the No. 1 pick is naturally lower.

As for the others, they may all be considered dark horses, but the gambling house did not offer a handicap. After all, there were 300 Gongsheng students, and it was impossible for the gambling house to offer all of them to gamble.

There is anecdotal evidence that if you are interested in a dark horse, you can talk to the bookmaker, that is, you can make a bet.

Of course Wei Guangde would not buy a dark horse, but unlike the World Cup and several major European football leagues in later generations, the Sports Lottery Center also introduced many ways to play.

Wei Guangde also learned to buy lottery tickets at that time. If you buy based on the balance of power, you will usually lose money. Even if you win, you will not make much money. If you specialize in betting on unpopular dark horses, you can often make some money.

But buying lottery tickets and gambling is okay as a pastime. After all, nine times out of ten you lose, so even if you make a charity donation, you will lose interest if you keep losing if you play too much.

When Wei Guangde arrived in the Ming Dynasty, that is, when he got together with his classmates in the same year, he was forced to play a few games, and he was no longer interested in that activity.

But I just met Li Fang and looked at those gambling tickets, which made my heart itch again, so I asked Zhang Ji to participate.

The important thing is to participate, not to earn a few dollars.

In Wei Guangde's eyes, Xu Shixing's probability is slightly higher, and Wang Xijue's probability is also high, but obviously not as high as Xu Shixing's.

After finishing his instructions, Wei Guangde strolled back to Prince Yu's Mansion. When he entered the house, only Tang Ruji was left in the house, and Zhang Juzheng was not seen.

Yin Shizhen was still in charge of the affairs in the palace, so it was not surprising that he was not in the house, but it was a bit strange that Zhang Juzheng was not here either.

Wei Guangde smiled at Tang Ruji, then returned to his seat and sat down. As soon as he picked up the book and didn't read it, he saw Zhang Juzheng coming in.

"Shandai, where have you been?"

When he came in and saw Wei Guangde sitting there, Zhang Juzheng smiled and said, "I went to the toilet and didn't see you. I was still wondering if you had gone somewhere to do something good."

"hehe."

Wei Guangde smiled. There were no outsiders in the room, so he immediately told him about his encounter with Li Fang.

"You go out and tell people to buy Xu Shixing, betting that he will win the top prize?"

Zhang Juzheng asked curiously.

"Yeah, didn't you mention the rumors about Xu Shixing yesterday? It's so interesting. Let's bet on his high school and see how lucky he is."

Wei Guangde smiled.

We are all scholars, and we all know some of our habits.

Don't look at those who talk a lot, but when it comes to gambling, Wei Guangde sensitively noticed that Zhang Juzheng and Tang Ruji were obviously moved, and his eyes shone.

"I just mentioned it casually yesterday, but now that you mentioned it, I remembered that I haven't asked anyone to buy it yet."

Zhang Juzheng stood still, thought for a moment and said, and turned around as he spoke. Tang Ruji, who was sitting over there, also stood up at this time and said: "Come with me, I didn't buy it either. It's not a reminder from Shandai." Forget about this."

Immediately, Wei Guangde saw the two people leaving in a hurry.

What the hell, this is the scholar of the Ming Dynasty, this is the official of the Ming Dynasty.

But I feel relieved when I think about how I often played around with my classmates and friends when I was taking the imperial examination. I guess it was a habit I developed at that time.

Wei Guangde muttered a few words in his heart, and then started to read the book seriously.

In the afternoon, after leaving Prince Yu's Mansion, Wei Guangde went to the Jiujiang Guild Hall first. Duan Mengxian hadn't come back yet, so he probably wouldn't hand in the paper until the sun went down.

In any case, the palace examination is the last step of the imperial examination. The ranking in the palace examination is really important. Whether you can be promoted from the top three to the second class is your last chance. No one will take it lightly.

No food or drinks were handed over, just a pot of tea was made. Wei Guangde sat and waited in the lobby of the guild hall.

Not long after, Lao Kan and others also came, all wanting to inquire about the next Meng Xian Palace Examination.

Zhu Gun and Zhang Dao, who had failed the examination, had already traveled to the capital under the leadership of Master Zhu Shilong. They did not stay in the guild hall even on the day of Duan Mengxian's palace examination, which was very disturbing.

Today I am just participating in the palace examination, and the yellow list will not be posted for a while, so the merchants in the capital have not come. After the yellow list is posted and the rankings are announced, everyone will gather here again and celebrate lively. Fan.

"I heard that uncle Zeng also passed the general examination?" Lao Kan asked, sitting next to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde nodded and said with a wry smile: "When Meng Xian meets his great uncle from now on, he will be of the same age."

The great uncle they refer to is naturally Zeng Fan, Zeng Shengwu’s father.

Speaking of which, Zeng Shengwu and them are both of the same age, but his father has become a junior in the officialdom. I really don't know what to call him when we meet in the future.

"Hehehe"

Lao Kan smiled and said: "When the appointment is conferred, if father and son meet in the yamen, what will they say?"

"You ask me who to ask, haha."

Wei Guangde could only smile. He really didn't know what Zeng Xingwu's attitude would be when he saw his late father.

Ouyang Yijing listened to their conversation and naturally knew what was going on. At this time, he added with a smile: "I guess the officials will take this relationship into consideration and assign positions in different places. It is unlikely that they will meet in person."

Zeng Fan's grades are also destined to be in the top three. There is a high probability that he will be transferred to another place, but there is no guarantee that he will stay in the capital.

When Zeng Shengwu passes the local examination, he may be transferred back to the capital as an official. That will be the most troublesome time.

Ouyang Yijing's words make sense, but it's only in the past few years. After all, Zeng Xingwu still has three years to go before completing the nine-year exam. After three years, as long as the exam is good, he must be promoted.

"If father and son really get together in the capital, I think Mr. Zeng would take his leave and become an official, so as not to delay his son's future."

Then, Ouyang Yijing analyzed again.

It is of course obvious who has the better future between me and my son. As long as Zeng Fan is not an official fan, he will definitely make way for his son.

Wei Guangde, Lao Kan and others all nodded slightly.

Ouyang Yijing was quite satisfied with the position Wei Guangde gave him in the Ministry of Justice, so he followed Wei Guangde on weekdays and followed his every move, which made him very satisfied.

As for Ouyang Yijing, although Wei Guangde was much younger than him, he was backed by Prince Yu's Mansion and had a bright future. He and Lao Kan were both one step ahead of him in the imperial examination, so he was also a junior.

After chatting for more than half an hour, he saw that the carriage from the guild hall was coming. Duan Mengxian got out of the carriage and was welcomed in by the store owner.

After chatting for a while, they talked about Duan Mengxian's palace examination. After listening to him briefly talk about the answers, Wei Guangde and others knew that Duan Mengxian would not be ranked second unless the sun came out in the west.

With a solid top three ranking, if you want to stay in Beijing, it depends on your luck in the imperial examination, but there is a high probability that you will go abroad.

After dinner at the Jiujiang Guild Hall, everyone dispersed and went home.

At this time, in the East Pavilion of the Forbidden City, the work of reading the papers was in full swing.

Of course, Duan Mengxian did not have the same luck as Wei Guangde. He had won the favor of Emperor Jiajing and was guessed by Yan Song, so he was selected in the final reading process, otherwise he would not even be qualified to let the emperor read the paper.

Of course, Duan Mengxian would not receive such treatment, so he was left behind early, and his ranking in the palace examination was basically based on the ranking in the general examination.

As for the case where you don't do well in the general examination and there is no help from noble people, if you want to get a good ranking and a good background by relying solely on the answer sheet of the imperial examination, it will only appear in the plot of a novel.

"Mr. Xu Ge, please."

Yuan Wei, who was sitting next to Xu Jie, turned the paper he had just read in front of Xu Jie and whispered.

"well."

Xu Jie hurriedly took it and looked at the latest judgment. It was naturally decided by Yuan Wei, and Xu Jie had a general direction in his mind.

Immediately, he took a quick look at the answer sheet in his hand and wrote down his own judgment, which was exactly the same as Yuan Wei's.

"They are old and no longer useful. These papers require you to put more effort into selecting candidates for the country."

Xu Jie smiled at Yuan Wei.

"Xuge Lao Lao Lao Lao will be strong"

"I have told Your Majesty before that you will be the examiner for this imperial examination. I am already in my sixties and my energy is low."

The two of them talked quietly and did not delay the work at hand.

In fact, Xu Jie is only a few years older than Yuan Wei, and he only entered the cabinet a few years earlier than Yuan Wei. They are almost the same.

However, Xu Jie is very good at hiding himself and always smiles when he sees someone, even if he is extremely unhappy with someone.

Everyone in the government and the public knew that he and Yan Song didn't get along, but he could still work well together in front of Yan Song. This is a typical politician.

For more than two thousand years in China, there were not many real politicians among those in power, but politicians more often.

As mentioned before, in fact, when Gongsheng students hand in their papers, the examiners have already divided their papers into first, second, and third grades according to the examination results. What the examiners do is mostly to look at the contents of the papers. If you have no new ideas, you must quickly make your own judgments.

The grading process went very quickly, and started slowly when the outstanding students turned in their papers, instead of starting after all the papers were collected.

After a night of intense grading, all the readers went to the Wenhua Hall together with the compiled papers early the next morning.

Not long after, Emperor Jiajing arrived here and the reading work officially began.

The reader read out one volume each, and a total of twelve copies were divided into three categories and placed on the imperial desk, waiting for Emperor Jiajing's final decision.

After finishing reading the papers, Emperor Jiajing actually had some thoughts in his mind. He scribbled down comments on the twelve papers. This was also a habit left by Emperor Jiajing.

"Demolish the seal."

Emperor Jiajing was sitting on the throne, looking at the papers on the desk, and said calmly.

Soon, the seal on the test paper was opened, and Gong Sheng's name appeared in everyone's eyes.

Unsurprisingly, the first one was Wang Xijue, followed by Xu Shixing.

After glancing at the papers at the back, Emperor Jiajing didn't seem to have any intention of adjusting his position. He just looked back and forth between the first two papers, as if to determine which paper he liked more.

Sitting back and leaning forward slightly, Emperor Jiajing closed his eyes and thought for a while. When he opened his eyes, his hands finally moved. He reached out for Xu Shixing's test paper and then placed it in front of Wang Xijue's test paper.

"That's it, you can watch the rest."

He spoke calmly again and confirmed the results of this palace examination, but inadvertently, the positions of the number one and number two were switched.

"You have worked hard too."

Emperor Jiajing looked at everyone and said, then turned to Huang Jin and said: "Give me a banquet."

It is also a fixed ritual that the Wenhua Hall holds a banquet to entertain the examiners, which is to show appreciation for the hard work of the examiners and at the same time demonstrate the divine grace.

The next day was the grand passing ceremony. Wei Guangde stood in the square outside Fengtian Hall neatly wearing his crown and court clothes.

Looking at the scaled-down version of Fengtian Temple again, he no longer had much emotion.

Perhaps when the current officials retire, no one will know this anymore, and when they pass through the Meridian Gate and Fengtian Gate and see the Fengtian Hall, they will still be awed by the grandeur of the hall.

"First place in the imperial examination. Xu Shixing."

"Wang Xijue ranked first and second in the palace examination."

"Yu Youding ranked first and third in the palace examination."

As the officials of Honglu Temple sang out the first-place list, the top scorer, second place winner, and top scorer in this subject were finally settled.

"I got eight hundred taels of silver."

Wei Guangde stood in the queue of officials, feeling very happy.

This time, he made more money than Wang Yu by betting on Xu Shixing to win the top prize. As for Zhang Juzheng and Tang Ruji, they only bet 200 taels and 30 taels, so they couldn't compare with him.

Before that, Wei Guangde only pretended to be calm, especially when King Yu heard that they had also placed bets before, and he was very concerned about their bets.

Knowing that he was betting on Xu Shixing, if Wei Guangde hadn't said that he was going to the Jiujiang Guild Hall to ask about Duan Mengxian's palace examination, King Yu might have used this as an excuse to keep them out for a drink that night.

The subsequent praise of officials in the Imperial Street and the posting of yellow bulletins had nothing to do with Wei Guangde. After leaving the palace gate, he bowed his hands to these new scholars and walked to the side. He met Yin Shizhen, Zhang Juzheng and others, and everyone went back to Prince Yu's Mansion. .

In Prince Yu's Mansion, it seems that Yin Shizhen didn't take the gamble, but even if he did, he would probably feel uncomfortable at this moment. After all, Wang Xijue, whom he was optimistic about, did not win the first prize, but only the second prize, so he would lose if he bet.

As for others, they have gained more or less.

Of course, Wei Guangde made the most money, followed by Yu Wang, and then Zhang Juzheng and Li Fang.

Yes, seeing Wei Guangde and others placing bets, Li Fang couldn't hold it back in the end. She took a small gamble and took out one hundred taels more than Zhang Juzheng.

"Let's go and congratulate King Yu. After gambling on so many subjects, I finally won."

Yin Shizhen asked them to go out and read something in his mouth.

Obviously, he does not support officials participating in gambling, especially gambling on the number one scholar. This is the country's talent promotion ceremony, and it should be solemn and solemn. How can it be tainted with the smell of copper.