Age of Heroes, ten consecutive guarantees

Beijing.

There is a small inland lake called Zhonghu.

Zhonghu Lake is small in area and has ordinary scenery, but here, even if it is a small piece of koi, someone will care about its life and death.

What is different from what most people imagine is that the highest authority in Daxia is not in the majestic Forbidden City, but is located on the edge of a small lake.

There are no towering buildings, only a few buildings with the highest two floors, plus a few house courtyards built around the lake. The overall scenery is pretty good, but it only goes so far.

In one of the courtyards, the whole courtyard is filled with gold and red.

There is a huge and ancient red-leaf tree planted in the yard. It may be a thousand or even thousands of years old. As soon as people step into the yard, they will be immediately attracted by its lush golden-red leaves. The whole The courtyard is under its leaves. The ground and eaves are covered with golden and red leaves, like a burning flame. The air is also filled with waves of the unique aging fragrance of ancient trees, as if a pot has never been broken. The overcooked old soup tastes more and more timeless.

The middle-aged man stood outside the door waiting for the internal summons. When he stood in the corridor and caught a glimpse of the bright red, he couldn't help but sigh at its vitality and beauty. Its field is like a person falling into water, with the golden and red life landscape everywhere. On the contrary, he will be unable to breathe, and he can't help but look in other directions, seeking other cold colors as adjustment, otherwise he will be in a trance. , even forgot to breathe.

"Mr. Sima, please come in."

A voice passed through the corridor, and without the waiter's greeting, the words automatically spread throughout the courtyard, as if the courtyard itself was speaking.

The middle-aged man adjusted his hat, rolled up and smoothed the corners of his clothes, put the red bracelet on his hand, adjusted his mood several times before finally crossing the threshold and entering the corridor.

The yard is not very big. After it was occupied by a tree, it should have lost its place. But when I actually walked in, I saw that there was something else. After passing through the drooping red leaves, it was like passing through a door curtain, and the blank ground was exposed in front. There is a white jade platform placed on it. The whole body is made of white marble. It is white and flawless. The stools are also matching. If it is placed in the tomb of an emperor, it will also be a first-class funerary object. It is often found in various top gardens. , is proof of the extravagance and lust of feudal emperors in the past dynasties.

However, Sima Zhong knew that the placement of this white marble was extremely exquisite. It was precisely the Feng Shui of the house that calmed the bright red tree of life in the sky.

Sitting next to the white marble stone table are two old men and two middle-aged men. One of the old men has his eyes closed and is silent. He has a childlike face. The other man is drowsy and lacks energy. The two middle-aged men have a calm attitude. On the contrary, they look more mature than the old men. of stability.

Sima Zhong walked to the mahogany table and chairs that had been prepared nearby, took out the rice paper and laid it out, took out the family calligraphy treasure, and dipped it in ink.

At this time, the sleepy old man opened his eyes, looked at Sima Zhong, and said softly: "Where is Sima Xu?"

Sima Zhong replied: "My father left during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. From now on, I will be responsible for recording."

"You look too young," the old man muttered.

Sima Zhong's fingers froze, and he knew that he was much worse than the old man.

At this time, a sixth person's voice sounded outside the scene, which was exactly the same as the voice that let Sima Zhong in before.

"I agreed."

The voice was very soft: "Sima Zhong is a contemporary historian."

Several people present involuntarily turned their attention to a screen.

The screen was not too tightly covered, and a pair of hands were faintly exposed. The hands were covered with silk gloves, and only half of the jade-like wrists were exposed.

Sima Zhong didn't dare to look any further. He lowered his head and began to grind carefully, preparing to record today's conversation.

"Let's get started." The woman behind the screen said, "There are three topics today."

"First, Shanhaisi's Xiangyun project has been stagnant for nearly ten years, and a new risk assessment needs to be conducted on it."

"Second, the economic growth target for the coming year and the core content of the next five-year plan."

"Third, the specific content of this year's palace examination."

The owner of the silk gloves said with a gentle voice: "Starting from the first topic... Sirs, think carefully and speak freely."

After a moment's pause, the energetic old man with a childlike face got straight to the point: "Shan Haisi mentioned that we got some information today, and there may be an opportunity to further promote the Xiangyun project."

"Perhaps, there is a chance?" The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses: "We have invested a lot of money, and Shanhaisi's statement is too unreasonable."

"Research will not necessarily produce results, you should know this."

"But it is a fact that Shanhaisi has taken away too many resources but achieved nothing. It is also our responsibility to judge the prospects of the project and stop the losses in time."

"The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance is right."

"In what era are you still using such old-fashioned vocabulary? Sir Shofu."

"Hahaha..." The old man laughed loudly, showing his missing teeth. His eyes were sunken and he said: "Young man just lacks a little patience. There is still some time before this year's audit ends. Please give me more." Please give me some time, even if the project is suspended now, they may not accept it immediately."

"Ten years is long enough." Another middle-aged man said: "Shanhaisi's project should not become the second water transport project in history."

"Put a limit on them?"

"It is not appropriate to boil frogs in warm water. You can send an investigation team to understand the specific situation and make a decision after receiving the report."

"Yes, but who will implement it? The ten divisions of Great Xia do not interfere with each other. The supervisory authority usually relies on directly-administered agencies, but in this era, there are no Jinyiwei and Sticky Offices."

"In the past, Jiaoyang was responsible for supervision on his behalf, but the three Jiaoyangs of this generation..." The middle-aged man was troubled when he mentioned this: "The leader of the Phoenix is ​​innocent and ignorant of worldly affairs, and letting the north and the south have too much murderous intentions will hurt the world. And, the last one is in a stagnant state of being haunted by inner demons."

"So, where is Haoyue?"

"Haoyue's status is insufficient. I'm afraid he won't be able to suppress the inspection team, nor the Shan Hai Division."

"I have a suggestion." The spiritual old man suddenly said: "Originally, this palace examination is different from previous years. It will be used as a screening. If who can win the palace examination leader, the task will be handed over to this person. What do you think?"

"This year's palace examination will involve several bright moons and even scorching suns." The middle-aged man pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "I think it can be used as a reference."

"The results of this palace examination seem to have directly affected the restructuring of the Shenwu Division..."

"Be careful! This matter is no longer within the scope of discussion today!" The skinny old man sat up straight and scolded.

The middle-aged man glanced at Sima Zhong, who was writing like a horse's hooves, closed his mouth, and bowed his hands to the other side of the screen.

A faint smile sounded from behind the screen: "It seems that the focus of today's issue is on the palace examination? It doesn't matter. We can postpone the Shanhaisi issue a little and talk about the palace examination directly. Do you have any ideas? "

The spirited old man suddenly became energetic: "To be honest, I got a lot of mathematical questions from the disciples of the Astrology Pavilion today. The people who kept these called them mathematical conjectures. You might as well treat these questions as a literary test. If there is any Whoever can answer one question will be selected as the leader of the literary test!"

As soon as this was said.

The other three people, including Sima Zhong, all looked at him with strange eyes... You are such a fool, are you a devil?

Are you serious about asking questions that you, the arithmetic madmen in the Star Gazing Pavilion, can't solve as questions for the essay test?

Are you awake?

"It's too difficult, no one can pass." The middle-aged man wearing glasses voted against it.

"It's the same for literary tests at other times. Very few pass. Since it's against the bright moon and the scorching sun, you should be respected."

"Your respect comes out of nowhere."

"Knowledge is the ladder of human progress. How can a person who doesn't understand math problems be the leader of the palace examination? He conquered the earth with brute force and muscles and cannot leave the earth, nor can he reach the outer chaos!" Miu Tianji raised his voice excitedly, The oldest man in the Star Observation Department has the stars and the sea hidden in his eyes.

"Ahem, you've passed. This is not your math class." Another decrepit old man smoothed things over: "The literary test questions can be the same as in the past. Come up with a simple question and let the Ministry of Etiquette...the Department of Literature and History people to pick out a few difficult questions.”

"Shut up, shameless old thief. You are even more extreme. You actually let people learn eight-part essay. Do you want to turn back the clock on history?"

Just the first literary test question was enough to cause a lot of noise.

However, the palace examination is ultimately used to select talents, and every question must be chosen carefully.

"How about this."

In the end, the owner of the courtyard behind the screen made the final decision: "You each choose a question, limited to the fields of divination and literature, and add another question at the same time..."

"Wouldn't this be enough time?"

"Extend the time of this palace examination to eight hours."

"So, what's the third question?"

The hand behind the screen gently caught a falling leaf and threw it out. The leaf fell to the ground. The wind blew gently, and bright red gilded fonts were imprinted on the spot.

Sima Zhong pinched his slipping sleeve and started recording with breathless concentration.

"When it came to the third question of the palace examination, the owner of Zhonghu Courtyard did not say anything. He threw a leaf with his hand and answered. The fallen leaves turned into ink and came with two words, saying: Economy! ’