Pawn Crossing the River

Huang Mei is old, and since he has retired, he will not come to Beijing easily, but he still has many old friends in Beijing. Qi Xuansu will have to visit them one by one when he goes to Beijing this time.

The so-called successor, the inheritance of knowledge is secondary. The key is the connections accumulated over the years, which are generally passed on to sons. Unfortunately, Huang Mei's son died early, and his daughter could not take the imperial examination, so he could only pass it on to his disciples and son-in-law.

However, connections are not something you can take if you want to. You are useful to me and I am useful to you. This is considered a connection. So Huang Mei asked Yin Zhengxin to pass the imperial examination for a reason. Juren is considered to have crossed this threshold. Considering that Yin Zhengxin is not only a juren, but also a Jieyuan, and he is not old, it means that he has a bright future. Therefore, even people with higher status than Yin Zhengxin are willing to make friends with Yin Zhengxin. Even if this connection is barely taken over, as for whether it can be developed into one's own connection, it depends on how far Yin Zhengxin can go.

This is a big deal. Huang Mei sent his trusted butler who had followed him for many years to go to the capital together, but he still felt that it was not enough. After all, the old servant was one level behind in blood relationship. In the end, Huang Mei asked Huang Rong to go with him. When he was in the capital, Huang Rong had met these old friends with Huang Mei, and he could visit them in the name of visiting his uncles.

Yin Zhengxin is from Wuzhou. In the Taoist world, when Wuzhou is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the Yunjin Mountain Great Zhenren Mansion in Shangqing Prefecture, which is the unparalleled place in the South Country and the first family in Xijiang.

In the Confucian world, Wuzhou is also not to be underestimated. It is a place where the style of formal writing is flourishing. To what extent is the style of writing flourishing? Let's put it this way. When the North-South List case broke out, all the northerners were eliminated, and no one from Huzhou in the South List was selected. Wuzhou people were far ahead and occupied the vast majority. Even if Emperor Taizu killed people for this, in the next imperial examination, the top three were all from Ji'an Prefecture, Wuzhou. In the second year of Taizong's special examination, the top seven were all from Wuzhou.

Half of the cabinet members come from Wuzhou.

It can be said that Wuzhou is a place where both Confucianism and Taoism flourish.

It was a lucky coincidence that Qi Xuansu originally wanted to find Zhang Yuelu in Wuzhou, but he didn't find her. He chose Yin Zhengxin in Wuzhou. It was because most of the cabinet members and ministers of the current dynasty came from Wuzhou that Yin Zhengxin was able to meet a noble person like Huang Mei. If it were other states, even if he had this intention, he might not have this luck, after all, the probability was different.

Yin Zhengxin had already arranged for several candidates to take the exam together. He set out from Wuzhou and went to Jinling Prefecture first, where he met with candidates from other prefectures. Then everyone chartered a large ship and sailed north together. They usually ate and lived on the ship. There were no dilapidated temples or wild inns in the wilderness. Even if they docked, it would be a big city or town.

Although Huang Rong was a female family member, the passenger ship was large enough, so there was no need to worry about the separation of men and women. More importantly, the Confucian school is now very different. Neo-Confucianism is gradually declining, and Xinxue is rising. In this respect, the School of Mind is relatively open-minded.

The journey was not short, and even if there were passenger ships, it was hard to avoid the fatigue of the journey.

Finally, they arrived in the imperial capital. They did not find an inn to stay in casually, nor did they get kicked out by the shopkeeper for not paying the room fee. Instead, they lived in different guild halls. Yin Zhengxin was from Wuzhou, so he lived in the Wuzhou Guild Hall. All the candidates from Wuzhou lived here. They could make friends and socialize, and they could also discuss articles and knowledge with each other.

Yin Zhengxin was very busy. In addition to these things, he had to visit various adults with Huang Rong and try to get into this circle.

In this process, money or land were secondary. Qi Xuansu had a big plan, and he was looking at the whole chessboard of the world.

The immortals made a move to stir up the world's situation, but was it for such a mundane thing? The key was the soul of each of the two players as the "prize".

Yin Zhengxin set out in the first month of the year and arrived in the capital at the end of the month. The examination was held in early March. Because the date of the joint examination was set in March of the following year after the provincial examination, it was also called "Spring Examination" to distinguish it from "Autumn Examination".

Many people took the autumn examination in August and then took the spring examination in March of the following year.

Yin Zhengxin delayed for a year. After he won the title of Jieyuan, he did not take the spring examination the following year. Instead, he was busy with his marriage. However, there was another special examination this time, so he went to Beijing to take the examination. It had been a year and a half since he took the autumn examination.

The joint examination was also called "Rites Examination" because it was hosted by the Ministry of Rites. The regular examination was held in the years of Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei. The examination was divided into three sessions. The first session was three essays on the Four Books and one five-character eight-rhyme regulated verse. The second session was five essays on the classics. The third session was five policy questions. Those who passed the examination were called Gongshi, and the first one was called Huiyuan, the second Yuan among the "three Yuans in a row". All Gongshi participated in the palace examination.

As for the palace examination, all the candidates passed the palace examination presided over by the emperor himself and became Jinshi. Jinshi were divided into three classes, with three people in the first class, and they were awarded Jinshi, namely Zhuangyuan, Bangyan and Tanhua. Zhuangyuan was the last one who won three prizes in a row.

Some people in the second class were awarded Jinshi, accounting for about one-third of the candidates; some people in the third class were awarded Tong Jinshi, accounting for about two-thirds of the candidates; the first Jinshi in the second class was called "Chuanlu". After the palace examination, the names, first place and rankings of the new Jinshi were written on yellow paper and posted to announce to the world, so it was called "Jinbangtiming".

Generally speaking, the joint examination was in March, the results were announced in April, and the palace examination was in May.

Qi Xuansu arrived in Beijing at the end of January, which was just a little more than a month.

This time passed in a blink of an eye, and the joint examination came. The first session was on the ninth day, the second session was on the twelfth day, and the third session was on the fifteenth day.

As the saying goes, God rewards hard work. Yin Zhengxin did nothing this month, and spent all his time on making connections. If he was really a genius, it would be fine, but Yin Zhengxin's foundation was just a little talented, and Qi Xuansu was not Qin Lingge. After three examinations, he almost made a fool of himself.

When the results were announced in April, Yin Zhengxin was at the back of the third list. Not to mention winning three prizes in a row, he almost failed.

Even Qi Xuansu, as a chess player, frowned. It was obviously a mistake. Fortunately, he was lucky and there was room for recovery.

The people watching the chess game were also a little nervous.

If Yin Zhengxin failed here, he would have to wait until the next exam, and the gap with Li Zhixing would widen. One step slower means every step slower. The key point is that Qi Xuansu lost one more piece, which means he was completely at a disadvantage, and it would be difficult to turn the tables.

After the results were announced, there were all kinds of life. Some people were pale, without a trace of blood, and almost fainted. This showed that they were the ones who failed. Some people blushed and trembled all over, which meant that they were on the list.

Fortunately, Yin Zhengxin was not very old, so even if he ranked low, he still had a promising future. Moreover, there was still the palace examination, which was the key.

Yin Zhengxin's low ranking was most likely not in line with the president's wishes. If he was in line with the emperor's wishes, it would not be impossible to directly select the top scholar.

The results will be announced in April, and there is still time before the palace examination in May. Yin Zhengxin learned from his lessons, buried his head in study, and sharpened his sword before the battle. It was not fast, but it was bright.

However, there were still some social events that could not be shirked, such as classmates' gatherings, thanking the teacher, etc.

Yin Zhengxin's teacher was an old acquaintance of Huang Mei, named Liu Lian, who is now the president of the Hanlin Academy. If it were not for this teacher, Qi Xuansu would have failed.

As for how Liu Lian could recognize Yin Zhengxin's article, it was certainly not cheating, but the style of writing. Yin Zhengxin did not learn in vain after studying with Huang Mei for so long. Even if he was not famous, he could tell something from the style of writing. This is also the main reason why people from Wuzhou dominate the list.

Qi Xuansu used Yin Zhengxin to observe the qi and found that this time the meeting was full of qi, and the dragon qi was faint. He was actually a person with a precious destiny and great luck.

Although he is not a son of luck, he is also a child of heaven. If he had not died young, he would have made a difference in the future.

Qi Xuansu thought about it and roughly understood that he changed Yin Zhengxin's destiny at the cost of losing a piece, which attracted the backlash of the fairy "Chess Game of the World". So the person with great luck in this world came into being. He had no luck originally, but now he has luck. This person's life trajectory also shifted, resulting in various variables.

To put it more bluntly, this is the person who came to stop Yin Zhengxin.

Yin Zhengxin's near failure this time may be related to this person.

If Qi Xuansu had not arranged deeply enough in the early stage and got on Huang Mei's big ship, he would have come up with various backhands and almost succeeded in stopping.

Qi Xuansu specially marked this person, named Zhao Yan, who, like Yin Zhengxin, was born in a poor family.

After Yin Zhengxin thanked his teacher and returned to Wuzhou Guild Hall, Huang Rong was not there. She had martial arts skills, and was not a traditional inner-house woman who never left the house. When Yin Zhengxin was not there, she would also walk around the capital. After all, this was the foot of the emperor, and Huang Rong had grown up here since she was a child, so she was very familiar with it.

Not long after, Huang Rong came back and talked to Yin Zhengxin about an interesting story. There was a demon named Zhang in the capital who was good at face reading. Recently, a prophecy was spread: Don't be complacent with the real dragon, Jiaomang, and Bai Yi may be killed together.

What does this mean?

Because this is a world with dragon energy as the foundation, the destiny and luck of people with great luck can be embodied as Jiaomang. The Jiaolong and Damang here may not refer to dragons and snakes, but may also refer to people with such luck.

Who is the real dragon? Is it the emperor of the current dynasty? This is a rebellion.

Or is it the real dragon that will replace the court?

The rise of dragons and snakes can be regarded as a great chaos in the world.

When the sky is murderous, the stars will move and the earth will change; when the earth is murderous, dragons and snakes will rise from the land. When people are murderous, the world will turn upside down.

The great headmaster who was watching the chess game spoke for the first time: "Variables have appeared."

The chessboard is not just a chessboard. It is not to let Qi Xuansu and Qin Lingge gallop freely. The immortals themselves have to maintain the normal development of this story and will spontaneously reject the intervention of immortals.

In fact, the real world is the same. The immortals from the sky cut out their incarnations to experience tribulations, and they are very taboo to interfere too much in the world. Immortals who are still in the world are one thing, and immortals who have ascended and returned are another thing. The latter are very likely to cause rejection by the heavenly way.

It's like a piece of meat growing in the body, which is naturally fine. If the meat is cut off and then put back, there will be problems.