Royal Road

In the late spring of March, the grass grows and the warbler flies, which is a good time for outings in the garden. The parks on the outskirts of Luoyang are also full of people. In addition to the private properties of the aristocratic family, there are also official gardens such as Xingchun Garden and Zhegui Garden, which are specially opened to the children of the cold and conscientious for their play. It's also a matter of morality.

Today, there are many people in Xingchunyuan. Next to a dense peach and plum grove, several scholars in green shirts gathered around the table.

"No matter what, the list will be released after two days. Brother Zou, why bother yourself? If you succeed or fail, you might as well wait for the list to be opened and then do your calculations." said a man wearing white silk.

Opposite him, the older companion smiled bitterly: "Sun Xian is tall and he is naturally not afraid. I am not. I am not. When the prince is married last year, your majesty will only open Enke. If you fail this time, I don't know when you will have the chance... "

On the side, another man with extravagant clothes and a strong figure didn't care: "Brother Zou is thinking about it. The year before, he opened Enke in Ping Youzhou. Last year, the prince was married, and there was Enke. Wait until the emperor's grandson. Will there be no Enke when it is born? Let alone recover Yongzhou and pacify Jiangdong... I think your Majesty is kind, there is always a chance!".

This is not bad, the complexion of that surnamed Zou slowly eased: "It is true that brother Lu Xian has said good things..."

"Brother Lu said it's not bad, but who said that I need to wait until I get off?" the round-faced, smiling young man in Moxi said, "Isn't it wonderful to be on the apricot list in Xingchun Garden?"

The Kasuga Seiki is commonly known as "Xingbang". A few people came to Xingchunyuan just to ask for a favor. Don't say it was Zou Qian, the rest also shouted in unison. Letting go of the burden in their hearts, a few people have fun again.

Just two days ago, this-year-old Enke just finished the exam. Since the founding of Great Zhao, the way of acquiring talents has changed. Every autumn, a regular course is opened. There are Jinshi, Mingjing, Mingfa, Mingshu, Mingshu and other subjects. This is a national ceremony for talented talents. If you want to enter the exam, you must be a student from Chongwenguan, Taixue, and schools in various counties. There are also some talents who can pass the state, county and township examinations and be selected for the township tribute.

This regular subject, as long as it enters the list, can be awarded! Therefore, the examination is extremely strict, and once on the list, he is a student of the emperor. Among the various disciplines, the Jinshi department is too expensive. However, whether you are a student or a local tribute, you need to be born and talented. For most of the underdogs, it is beyond expectation.

However, the emperor Shengming, in addition to the autumn daily course, also has the spring festival course. This system, just like the original merged state system, is designed to be a private addition, also known as "Enke". Generally, the exams are opened on the spring day, and there are many subjects, not only classics, history, and fu, but also medicine and martial arts. Participants are not restricted by their identities, and there is no limit to the number of participants. As long as you reach it, you can leap into the dragon!

Zou Qian and several people are just the cold concubines who rushed to this Enke. Among them, Zou Qian and Sun Zhang, who were born in a tribe, studied erudition and liberal arts. Lu Chun is a son of Jiangmen, who came to Wuke. In Zhu Yue's family, he was a merchant, but he had to build roads in Jizhou before and was given the Liuwai honoured officer before he could enter the science and human sciences examination. Imagine the past, how can they have a chance to enter? It is a great blessing even if it is just for the inferior officials!

Because of the similar background, the few people are like-minded and formed partners. After finally finishing the exam, we came to Xingchunyuan to relax and relieve the anxiety of waiting for the list.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, the topic turned back to the exam. Zou Qian said: "Speaking of which, the new special performance in this section, but it is a big event. It is said that you can't even get into the imperial list if you leave outside officials."

For the candidates, the most important thing is the court policy. This special section is a major innovation this year, specifically for people with official status. As long as there is a good assessment of "diligence as an official and good for political affairs", you can participate in the special performance test. The subjects tested are no different from Jinshi! For those who are unable to participate in regular courses, this is just another way out. Start with Enke first, then be diligent in political affairs, and get a good evaluation. As long as you pass the special test, you can reach the high position that a family can only get involved!

"This special performance is even harder than a Jinshi." Zhu Yue could see clearly. Although this is a way out, every joint requires effort different from ordinary people. It's not easy to be a good official, and you don't have to slow down your studies. If the special performance test fails, the official is also abandoned, that is more than the gain!

"It's better than wasting a lifetime and being attached to a family." Sun Zhang is talented and is the first of the four. For this subject, I have some ideas. In the past, it was so much a curtain of a poor family to enter the family, named Keqing, really a slave. Now that the emperor Shien special plays, it has been a rare opportunity in a century.

Lu Chun laughed and said, "That's the reason! Chao is Tian Shelang, and dusk is in the emperor hall. If it's not Enke, how can I wait for the day?"

The dynasty is Tian Shelang, and the evening enters the Tianzitang. In one fell swoop, Dengke Day, the beautiful hometown. These four sentences circulated in Luoyang city at some unknown time. Although the speech is mediocre, but it is catchy and very good, and people can't help but sing. Regardless of whether it is a regular course or a systemic course, they are more promising than the nine-grade official talent method. Doesn't he rely on talent and courage when he is alive?

"I have also heard that some people in the DPRK said that'not to visit the prefectures and counties, and not to plan for the province of Taiwan.' If this is the case, after more than a decade, the difference will not be the same as the previous dynasty." Zhu Yue's news is also unknown Where did it come from, but these words refreshed everyone.

Since the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, officials have distinguished "clear and turbid." Only officials who are "clearly important", "freely" and "clearly displayed" are good candidates. The Nine-Rank selection method has made "advanced and enterprising" and "first official career clear" become exclusive to Gaohua. In the old days, all officials in the East Palace were elected; Huang San’s post required everyone to be beautiful; there was also a secretary, Cheng, who was absolutely clean in the world. Only those who are close to the emperor, take charge of Wenhan, and have a leisurely and elegant official position are elected.

These "upright officials" are all in the ranks of the family, how can the poor family get involved? Therefore, high-ranking officials fell into the hands of the gentry.

However, the Great Zhao Dynasty was very different from the previous ones. The emergence of the three provinces and six ministries has made "practical governance" an important task for officials. Now, with the rule of "don't visit the prefectures and counties, and don't plan to make Taiwan province", what's the point of adding the official title of the secretary, the writer, and the official title? If you don't enter the sixth department, you don't go to the center, you are just a jester of the emperor!

As for Lizhou County, it is necessary to go down to serve as a county magistrate and governor, to be close to the people and to manage government affairs, and to select and evaluate performance. How many chatty celebrities can bear all day long to bury their heads in general affairs? Therefore, as soon as this order is issued, the nine-tier selection method will be in vain. Even if the Zhongzheng Dingpin, the emperor bestows an official, it is just a beautiful display. If you don't want to lose power, this "clean and turbid" official quality will really change.

"It's better if it's so! As long as I'm diligent and loving the people, I won't lose to the generations of princes!" Sun Zhang raised his cup high, "Birthday to the emperor!"

This voice came from the heart, as clear as Fengming. Everyone immediately raised their wine glasses and called to the holy monarch to drink full of fine wines.

I don't know how many Enke candidates are thinking of Mingjun. And the emperor Zhao is standing in front of a strange building at this moment.

"This clock is really...ingenious." Looking at the towering pavilion nearly two feet away, Liang Feng squeezed out a sentence for a while.

Soon after he took the throne, he ordered the Ministry of Engineering to build a bell tower outside the Taiji Hall. Although there is a copper sundial in the palace, the style is old. If it can be replaced with a new-style clock tower, it will definitely make a big difference. He remembers that there was a water-powered timing device in the Song Dynasty, which also served as an observatory. Although the times are a bit far apart, if there is no armillary sphere, and only timekeeping, the technical difficulty may be overcome.

And putting this kind of semi-hydraulic and semi-mechanical clock tower outside the main hall of Taiji Hall is not to mention its extraordinary momentum, and it is also helpful for scientific development. Not to mention whether the discrepancy between the solar time and the clock will be found, and the earth's orbit will be further estimated. It is also very good for motivating hundreds of officials.

You know, the scientists in ancient China were out of bureaucratic groups in all likelihood. In history, there are a lot of all-round talents who are skilled in medicine, astronomy, water conservancy, invention and creation. Arousing the curiosity of these potential fans is of great benefit to the development of science and technology. And those officials who don't care about the structure of clocks and watches at all have to be somewhat "good at the top, but not at the bottom", right? If the superiors like it, they will do a lot of special work, and only then will there be bureaucracy with Chinese characteristics.

Therefore, although the cost of building a bell tower will not be small, it will benefit the future.

The result was better than expected. It only took three years to complete the clock tower ahead of schedule, but the style was far from what Liang Feng had expected. Not the slender appearance of the tower of later generations, this bell tower is really a "tower". According to what he said, the top floor has a vertical dial with hands and twelve hour scales. But below, it is upright, divided into five layers. There are densely packed small doors on each floor, and it is said that at the hour, there will be wooden people playing drums.

Hearing the "praise" of the emperor, the Ministry of Industry Shangshu Zutai took a step forward: "His Majesty, this building is five minutes, and it is a heavenly phenomenon. The first floor is the main office and there are three doors. Chenchu ​​rang the bell, Chenzhong knocked the bell Every moment, there is a wooden man playing drums in the middle door. On the second floor, the first time is reported, and every hour, there will be a wooden man showing up. The third floor announces the time, the fourth floor plays five watches, and the last floor, It’s the night report. The five take turns, day and night."

I said that there are five layers. It turns out that there are two ways to tell the time, text and sound. This is much more detailed than a bird popping out and making a few "cuckoo" sounds.

Liang Feng couldn't help but nodded, and glanced at the dial: "But it's going to be noon?"

Ask the emperor to visit the new clock tower, and naturally choose a time close to the hour. Sure enough, as soon as Liang Feng's voice fell, the pointer fell at 12 o'clock. After only two sounds of "Dangdang", in the wooden door on the right side of the first floor, a purple-robed puppet rang the bronze bell. At the same time, the purple-robed puppets on the second floor also showed up with a sign saying "Wuzheng". The actions of the two are the same, naive and charming.

"Good!" Liang Feng praised, "With this thing, the officials should be able to work and rest on time."

In fact, without this big clock, no one would dare to be late for civil servants commuting to and from the palace. But the emperor's order always has a bit of meaning. Isn't this clock just to urge all officials to be diligent and punctual?

Suddenly, all the people around him praised the emperor Shengming. Zu Taizhi hurriedly said: "Please also give your majesty a name."

Liang Feng thought for a while: "Let's call it the Enlightened Taiwan. The image of enlightenment is hard work."

This name is clichéd, but who dares not praise it? Ignoring the turbulent flattery, Liang Feng turned his head and said to Liu Jian on the side: "You can also supervise an observatory in Qintian and reset the armillary sphere."

With the telescope, the next step is the astronomical telescope. Although I don't know how many years it will take to overcome the difficulties, the foundation must be solidified first.

Liu Jian immediately bowed: "Thank your Majesty for your grace. The Qintian Supervisor has recently changed the calendar, and the calendar can be set two months in advance next year!"

"Oh?" Liang Feng raised his eyebrows, "It's so good. This time the almanac, I want to publish the world. Let the people know the four seasons of solar terms!"

Now that there is engraving and printing, and the matching staff for calculating, it is natural to make a fortune when selling the imperial calendar. But making money is still a trivial matter, and this is undoubtedly one of the ways to declare the orthodoxy of the dynasty. Imagine if Yongzhou and Jiangdong also used Zhao's almanac, who would dare to say that he was not a man of destiny?

Turning his gaze back to the clock tower, Liang Feng nodded in satisfaction. There will be a list in the system in the near future. This thing should be an eye-opener to the new scholars who are in the palace.

The author has something to say: The instrument Liang Shao said is a water transport instrument platform supervised by Su Song in the Song Dynasty. The depiction of the bell tower also refers to the prototype.