The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"May I ask, did you ever save my great brother?"

After saying hello and seeing the other person nodding and looking blank, Wei Guangde knew that the other person might not remember him.

It's not that he has a good memory. No matter how good his memory is, Wei Guangde can't remember everyone he meets. The main reason is because this is the first scholar Wei Guangde has seen, and he is Zeng Yuanshu's brother. The two of them still look a little bit different. They look alike, so they can recognize people with their eyes.

"My dear, Pengze Wei Guangde, I saw you when Brother Zeng returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors and Brother Yuanshu served as host."

Wei Guangde could only introduce himself, maybe say a few more words, and give a little hint, and the other party would remember it.

"Wei Guangde, I remember that we met at the riverside restaurant."

After Wei Guangde's reminder, Zeng Xingwu was now a master, and he really knew the young master in front of him.

Looking at what Wei Guangde was wearing, he was wearing a student uniform, and it was obvious that the other party was already a man of great fame.

"Guangde came to Beijing for next year's examination?"

After all, Wei Guangde looked young. Although he had some guesses in his heart, Zeng Xingwu just asked tentatively.

Back then, when I was admitted as a scholar, this little kid was not even a child.

Fast forward a few years, he was wearing these clothes and in this place, and some things were already obvious.

"I passed the provincial examination by luck, so I came to the capital to try my luck."

Wei Guangde still said modestly, this is also a common problem among literati in this era.

Of course, there are also arrogant ones, but that's not Wei Guangde.

"Oh, I didn't expect that."

Zeng Shengwu told the truth at this time, and was very surprised. He never imagined that the elementary school boy would actually take the imperial examination with him one day.

Although he had made some guesses before, in his heart, he was more willing to believe that this was the city of Beijing that he came to with his elders.

Zeng Xingwu's reading ability is already outstanding in the Zeng family. Now, his father is also studying and even taking the imperial examination, but he is just a scholar and has not even passed the imperial examination.

The provincial examination in Jiangxi is no weaker than that in Huguang.

In fact, in this era, the most difficult rural examinations were in Southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Huguang and Zhejiang. This was the death group of the rural examinations in the Ming Dynasty.

"Come on, come on, let's find a restaurant and have a drink. I haven't seen you in many years. You are really good. It's only been five years and you have already gone to the capital to participate in the examination."

Zeng Xingwu met an old friend, who could be regarded as an old acquaintance. He had met him several times in Pengze, especially Wei Guangde, who frequently went to Zeng's house to copy eight-legged essays.

Zeng Shengwu was very happy and took Wei Guangde out to find a place to drink. Only the owner of the bookstore looked at the two men unhappily, but didn't say anything.

"Tell me, how did you pass the exam all these years, but you are so good? Is this all the way through?"

Indeed, after calculating the time and thinking about Wei Guangde's age, Zeng Shengwu thought that Wei Guangde had only participated in the imperial examination in the past two years and went all the way to the capital.

Now I am sitting in the restaurant, and I have already ordered the food to go with the wine, but the restaurant is still making it and has not served it.

Wei Guangde then recounted his experience in the imperial examinations over the years. It was actually very simple. He started taking the county examination at the age of thirteen and fought all the way until he failed in the provincial examination that year.

After three years of fighting, they finally reached the capital. Wei Guangde felt that there was nothing to say, it was too simple.

At this time, the food and wine were served. The two clinked glasses and ate a few more bites of the food. Wei Guangde told Zeng Xingwu about the current imperial examination status of Zeng Yuanshu and Zeng Yuanrui, whom Zeng Shengwu was interested in.

Zeng Yuanshu was already a scholar, but he failed to pass the provincial examination twice. Zeng Yuanrui was still a child and had to continue to compete for the college examination.

What else could Zeng Xingwu say? Many things in this imperial examination are unclear. It does not mean that you will be on the list if you are talented.

After talking about his own path to the imperial examination, Zeng Xingwu naturally also wanted to introduce his situation.

Speaking of which, his path to the imperial examination was somewhat similar to that of Wei Guangde. After he was admitted as a scholar, he took the provincial examination twice before successfully passing the imperial examination and coming to the capital to take the joint examination.

It's just that this point is the same. He had taken the boy's exam twice before, but Wei Guangde was not like this. He passed all the boy's exams in one go and only faltered during the provincial exam.

"Your examination experience is similar to that of my mentor. He also passed the boy's examination in one attempt, then failed in the provincial examination, and then successfully passed the second provincial examination."

Zeng Shengwu toasted and Wei Guangde walked away before he said anything.

"Your teacher, I don't know who the senior is."

Wei Guangde said very politely, "It's great for people from Huguang to be able to teach people to succeed."

Recalling that when he won the exam and returned to Jiujiang with a large group of people, and disembarked at Bengshan Fort on the way, and followed his father to worship his ancestors, Wei Guangde stopped by to see Master Sun.

Master Sun was so happy and dancing when he found out that Wei Guangde had passed the examination. After all, he was Wei Guangde's tutor, and Wei Guangde had not found a Confucian teacher to teach him. Speaking of which, except for Wei Guangde's examiner teacher, Master Sun was Wei Guangde's only teacher. Not excited?

During the dinner, Master Sun was drunk and still crying and laughing.

For an old scholar who has been taking the exam for decades, he failed to pass the exam and put his mind on the students, which finally paid off.

Of course, Wei Guangde didn't believe that Zeng Xingwu's teacher would be like him. He was probably a highly respected Confucian scholar in Huguang.

"It sounds very similar to you. My mentor is also a military man. Mr. Taiyue Wei of Jingzhou is an editor of the Hanlin Academy."

Zeng Shengwu said with a smile.

"Mr. Taiyue, editor of Hanlin Academy."

Well, the name Mr. Taiyue sounds awesome when mentioned, but it seems that the title of Editor of the Hanlin Academy is even more awesome.

Although the editor is only a seventh-rank official, he is not an official like a county magistrate, but he is very powerful.

As for how powerful it is, it lies in the three words "Hanlin Academy" in front of it.

The Hanlin Academy was a Qingshui yamen, and it trained some of the best people in the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty.

As a rule, the first three people in the imperial examination were directly awarded the positions of editor to editor in the Hanlin Academy, while the rest of the Jinshi took the imperial examination, and the outstanding ones were admitted to the Hanlin Academy as Shujishi.

Shujishi is just a position, not an official.

The Shujishi disbanded after three years. At this time, there was another dissolution examination, and the Shujishi were awarded official positions. Among them, the outstanding ones stayed in the Hanlin Academy and were awarded official positions such as editors and reviewers, and those who were eliminated were transferred to He may serve as an official in the ministry or local government.

Why are they all willing to compete for the position of Qingshui Yamen? Then we have to talk about the old saying, "If you are not a Jinshi, you will not enter the Imperial Academy, and if you are not an Imperial Academy, you will not enter the cabinet." Therefore, he is also known as the "Preserver Prime Minister".

This teacher Zeng Xingwu came from the Hanlin Academy, which means that he is the top scholar among the scholars of this era.

"Your teacher is really amazing. How did you become a teacher? The Hanlin Academy is in the capital and you are in Huguang?"

Immediately, Wei Guangde felt something was wrong.

"My mentor went back to his hometown in Huguang on sick leave a few years ago to recuperate. I was in Chengtian Prefecture, not far from Jiangling County. At that time, I happened to fail the provincial examination, so I shamelessly went to ask for advice.

Although my mentor said that he would not accept me as his disciple and that he would only exchange knowledge with my peers, I have always been his mentor. "

The Chengtian Mansion that Zeng Sheng mentioned to me was actually called Anlu Prefecture in the past, which is where Emperor Jiajing was born.

It was just that Emperor Jiajing was taken to Beijing and took the throne here, so Anlu Prefecture was upgraded to Chengtian Prefecture.

Speaking of which, Zeng Shengwu was actually a fellow countryman of Emperor Jiajing.

Well, I had an old scholar from the Hanlin Academy to guide me, and Zeng Xingwu thought it would be hard to fail the exam.

Wei Guangde thought this in his heart and asked casually: "Where is Brother Zeng staying in the capital?"

"Huguang Guild Hall, what about you?"

"The Jiujiang Guild Hall is run by the countryside, so it's more convenient to live there. After all, most of the people living there are from Jiujiang. It's also convenient to bring news and other things."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"When did you arrive in the capital?"

The two of them drank and chatted for an entire afternoon before they knew it.

Time flies to the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, more than 20 members of the Jiujiang Guild Hall went to the Jiangxi Guild Hall for a banquet. Naturally, Wei Guangde would not be left behind. He also wanted to leave a good impression on Mr. Yan Ge. For the sake of his career, Wei Guangde It’s also hard work.

After all, Wei Guangde is now a Juren. Even if he fails the examination, the worst he can do is become an official as a Juren because of his connections. Isn't that just doing business?

Wei Guangde came here in disguise. He didn't know what other people thought. After he came over, he prepared a way out for him to become the head of the village and go to Qiaoguan to work as a scribe.

Of course, these are no longer needed.

Originally, Wei Guangde wanted to go to Prince Yan Shifan to clean up his face, but after hearing about it in the capital for a month, Wei Guangde had no intention of going forward.

He didn't know before that this guy's reputation in the capital was not very good, not because he was greedy, but because he was actually a vegetarian who killed both men and women.

These days, there are many good people like Long Yang, but those who hold an official position like him can't get any kind of beautiful wives and concubines, but they have nothing to do with men.

Wei Guangde thought he was not handsome, but he was born in a military household, so his temperament was slightly different from that of the scholars around him, and he looked much more masculine.

Wei Guangde is not worried about letting Yan Shifan take advantage of him, but he is worried about Yan Shifan letting him use his back door.

I can't stand it.

When they arrived at the place, they bowed and saluted again to the candidates who were waiting for the examination in Beijing. Wei Guangde knew some of them, and there were also some seniors from previous years who were introduced to them and they all knew who they were.

After that, candidates from other prefectures and counties came one after another, and soon the huge lobby of Jiangxi Guild Hall was packed.

The candidates were almost here, and then came the officials from Jiangxi in Beijing.

I don’t know if it was discussed or coordinated by someone. Anyway, they started with low-level officials and gradually rose to high-level officials.

From fifth- and sixth-grade officials to third- and fourth-grade officials, these are already numerous big figures in the court. The last ones to appear are naturally Yan Song, Yan Ge Lao, and his son Yan Shifan.

At this time, Yan Shifan was already the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Emperor Jiajing had previously wanted to give him the title of Minister of the Ministry of Processing, but Yan Song declined.

This person is also a strange person. He did not pass the imperial examination. He is just a shadow student, that is, he graduated from the Imperial College and went directly to the third-grade high-ranking officials.

If his classmates have a good relationship, they will naturally rise to heaven. If they have a bad or average relationship, they are still playing in the mud at the grassroots level.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, most of the prison students, as long as they had some pursuits, would continue the imperial examination after entering the Imperial College, hoping to pass the joint examination, participate in the palace examination, and become the emperor's disciples. Jiansheng is much bigger.

However, this little pavilion elder entered the official position as a supervisor, and then rose through the ranks, and now he has reached the nominal third-in-command position of the Ministry of Industry.

Yan Shifan's current official official position is the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, preceded by Shangshu and left minister, but in fact he is already the top leader of the Ministry of Works and controls the entire Ministry of Works.

Yan Shifan was born chubby, with a short neck due to his fat body. He was completely different from the skinny father next to him. I don’t know if it was because he followed his mother. Anyway, at first glance, it would make people feel that they are not the same. a gene.

After the two people entered the lobby, they naturally became the focus of everyone's attention. Not only the officials who had come before came forward to salute, but also those who were waiting for exams also came forward to salute.

In this situation, even if Wei Guangde wants to do something to make people notice and remember him, it is definitely impossible. He can only pay attention when the banquet starts and toasts, and see if he can find an opportunity to miss him in front of the chief minister. .

However, when the princes in Jiujiang Prefecture came forward to pay their respects, they saw that Wei Guangde was young and the one he least wanted to offend, Mr. Yan Shifan, became a little interested.

It was so noisy before that I couldn't hear them clearly when they announced their names.

"Why is this scholar so young? What is his name?"

Yan Shifan looked at Wei Guangde and asked.

"Greetings, Sir, I am a student from Jiujiang Prefecture, Wei Guangde, who just passed the provincial examination this year."

Wei Guangde saluted Yan Shifan again, and then introduced himself.

"You're not that old."

After hearing Wei Guangde's self-report, Yan Shifan's eyes flashed imperceptibly.

"The student is sixteen this year."

Wei Guangde felt very uncomfortable. His household registration was being checked.

"Father, this candidate is only sixteen, I'm afraid he is not the youngest candidate in this subject."

Attracted by Yan Shifan's words, Yan Song also stared at Wei Guangde, stroked his beard and said: "Not bad, not bad, a very talented person."

"He is only sixteen years old, not much worse than that Uncle Zhang. He was only sixteen years old when he came to take the examination."

Yan Song and his son exchanged a few words in a low voice, and Yan Song looked at Wei Guangde with a more kind look.

Without him, he had wanted to win over the young genius they talked about, but in the end he ran away with the master, even though the master was now working for him.

"Why don't you see Hua Ting coming?"

Yan Shifan said again.

"He is on duty at Xiyuan today and can't come."

Yan Song shook his head, and then said to Wei Guangde with all his strength: "Take the examination well, the emperor and the court need young talents to contribute to the country."

After finishing speaking, Yan Song stared at Wei Guangde twice before saying: "Looking at your temperament, you don't want to be a bookworm. What do you do at home?"

"My father, Wei Meng, is currently the governor of Jiujiang Weiwei Town."

When Wei Guangde left Jiujiang Prefecture, the reward documents from the capital had not yet arrived, and it had been a month since the Japanese pirates were exterminated. This shows the low efficiency of the Ming court.

"Jiangmen, not bad, not bad."

In fact, when Yan Song said that he was a general, he was praising Wei Guangde. The Wei family was worthy of the title of general, it was just a family of low-level military officers.