The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde's mentality was bad. He stood outside the Meridian Gate and thought a lot. He didn't know why he entered the Meridian Gate with the tribute procession.

When he came to his senses, he had followed the team to the outside of Fengtian Hall and was standing on the west side of Danqi.

In front of them were the officials in green uniforms. They were not qualified to enter the Fengtian Hall, where only high-ranking officials could set foot.

But at this time, the door of Fengtian Palace was completely open, and Wei Guangde could still vaguely see what was going on inside.

After all the officials and tributes stood still, the minister of Honglu Temple, who was in charge of court etiquette, invited the emperor to ascend to the palace. As the ritual music played, Emperor Jiajing came out from one side in his robes and entered the Fengtian Palace. At this moment, the sound of a cleansing whip was heard in front of the hall. Voices.

"Pah, pah. pah."

After the emperor sat down, all the officials and tributes kowtowed to Emperor Jiajing on the throne amid the chorus of the officials from Honglu Temple.

After that, Wei Guangde didn't hear anything that was said in Fengtian Palace from a distance. At the moment, his main energy was spent on adjusting his mentality.

Try to let yourself get rid of those emotions that came out of nowhere before. He should empty his mind and let himself be completely quiet.

As the words "Xuan Jinke's tributes go to the palace" came into his ears, Wei Guangde mechanically followed the others again, walked forward slowly, and stepped on the steps step by step.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing, who was sitting in the Fengtian Hall, looked at the three hundred tributes walking slowly, his eyes were a little dazed, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Under the guidance of officials from Honglu Temple, Wei Guangde and the others were qualified to enter Fengtian Temple at this time.

Wei Guangde and the others' positions were regulated, and the tributes were required to keep enough distance between them until everyone was in position. Standing on His Highness, they once again kowtowed to Emperor Jiajing on the throne.

When the tribute students entered the hall, the civil and military officials in the hall had already consciously moved to both sides of the hall.

Although Fengtian Hall is large, three hundred people came in at once, and they were still packed to the rafters.

"let's start."

Seeing that it was almost done, Emperor Jiajing whispered to the eunuch next to him.

Immediately, the eunuch following the emperor unfolded an imperial edict with his hands and read it loudly with a high-pitched but penetrating voice.

"In the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Emperor Jiaxu, the imperial court of Jiaxu tested the tribute system in the world and said: I have established a king to lead the land according to the destiny, and I must have ministers who can help me. This is the so-called neighbor. I call on Yao and Shun to defeat the saints without the help of great sages and great virtues. , how can the two saints work alone? I think the ancient heads of state are really one body, and they support each other from top to bottom. If it is not so different now, I put my heart and soul in the heart of the people, how can I be regarded as an enemy? I can hope for the country. It is also for the people. I am ignorant of the philosophy of others and the wisdom of capable officials. I want to know and understand what I want to hear. Master Fang Erduosi, it is true when I see it. It should be beneficial to me to know the way. I know it well, do not hold back and do not deceive."

After the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, Emperor Jiajing waved his hand. The eunuch put away the bright yellow scroll in his hand and walked down slowly, handing it to the promotion officer of this palace examination. This is to award the strategic questions, and the promotion officer will place the strategic questions. On the policy proposal in the middle passage of Fengtian Hall.

The emperor has issued the policy question, and the next step is for the tribute students to answer it. However, before that, Wei Guangde and the others were guided by the officials of Honglu Temple to bow five times and three kowtows to the emperor on the throne. Get up and stand.

The Ming Dynasty's five bows and three kowtows are the rites of emperors and ministers. The first four of the five bows are all about bowing to the head, and the last bow is to kowtow three times. They are all taken from the nine bows in "The Rites of Zhou".

As for the three-kneel-and-nine-kowtow ceremony that the people say, it was actually used by emperors to worship heaven, but it was abused by later dynasties.

In just ten minutes, Wei Guangde had knelt down three times. He began to think seriously about whether it was good or bad to stay in the capital and serve as a capital official.

"Let the exam begin."

On the throne, Emperor Jiajing looked at this year's tribute scholars. In a few days, they would transform into Jinshi and become disciples of the emperor.

He has been sitting in this position for more than thirty years. After more than ten palace examinations, he no longer had the initial feeling that "all the talents in the world have fallen into my trap." He looked at His Highness's tributes indifferently.

He must attend the palace examination, the country's talent promotion ceremony, and at least go through the basic etiquette.

However, Emperor Jiajing could not sit still at this moment. He might still think it would be better to go back to Xiyuan for a ritual ceremony, so he wanted to end these tedious procedures as soon as possible.

After he finished speaking, the eunuchs who had already been prepared came forward with a small table in the order they had arranged. Behind them, there were people holding pens and inkstones and began to distribute them.

After the eunuchs finished their work, the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette began to distribute the question papers. Each person had twelve papers, no more, no less. They were all given to them by the printing officer last night after checking and printing.

The title paper is mounted on rice paper and is extremely elegant. Each page is 40 centimeters long and 12 centimeters wide. There are red lines and straight grids. Each line has 24 words. Each word must be written neatly.

Candidates knelt down one by one to receive the question papers, went to their seats and began to answer the questions.

"The head of state is really one body, and the top and bottom support each other."

This question was beyond Wei Guangde's expectations. At this moment, he was silently reciting a passage he extracted in his mind.

Before that, Wei Guangde had always thought that the questions asked by Emperor Jiajing would either solve the problem of Tatars in the north or the Japanese pirates in the south, or at the worst, solve financial problems and contribute to his career of cultivating immortals. However, Wei Guangde really did not expect that the questions asked by the emperor would be it is this.

The holy edict has said before that in ancient times, Yao and Shun had great sages to help them, and the credit was not given to the two sages alone, but to everyone.

Is this going to start emphasizing "the monarch and his ministers are of one mind"?

Could it be that Emperor Jiajing had discovered that the atmosphere in the officialdom was corrupted, party disputes intensified, and the administration of officials was severely damaged, gradually falling out of the emperor's control.

Therefore, the emperor's policy questions reflected his strong desire for clean and honest administration and harmony between the monarch and his ministers.

After Wei Guangde read the questions, he did not start answering immediately, but started thinking.

In fact, most candidates did not answer the question immediately at this time, but were thinking about what the policy analysis meant.

The imperial examination is different from the previous provincial examination and general examination. It does not look at literary talents but at solutions.

A large part of the performance of the palace examination lies in the candidate's understanding of the question maker's intention and how to answer it. If the answer is in the right direction, he will excel and his ranking may be improved.

Inadvertently, Wei Guangde secretly raised his head and glanced at the person on the throne. Although he was wearing a crown and his face was obscured by the crown hanging in front of the crown plate, Wei Guangde could still vaguely see the face of Emperor Jiajing. He had a long face. His forehead seems a bit high, he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his beard is okay, not a big beard.

The crown robe on his body is also "carrying the sun and moon on his shoulders, and carrying the stars on his back." In fact, Wei Guangde couldn't see clearly. This is what the book said, so it seems correct.

Um?

Wei Guangde suddenly felt strange. He seemed to see a meaningful smile hanging from the corner of the emperor's mouth.

However, Wei Guangde's heart tightened immediately, and he felt as if his eyes were meeting the person's.

Yes, even though I wanted to leave, I couldn't just get up and leave right away. Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong was also sitting on the throne looking down at the candidates below.

Some people are already polishing their ink, and many more are still thinking.

This time Emperor Jiajing also had a whim. Today's candidates like to try to figure out the emperor's heart. In fact, it is not just the candidates, but also the ministers under him.

Folks all thought that the imperial court had a headache because of the Japanese and northern captives, and most people in the official circles knew that the imperial court was financially tight. I think the following candidates had the same mentality. They should bet in this direction when taking questions, but I just don’t agree with you. .

Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing's mouth revealed a playful smile, and then he found a guy near the entrance of the hall secretly looking up at him.

As the Ninth Five Emperor, Emperor Jiajing would naturally not be the same as him. After all, he was almost his disciple.

Moreover, as far as his position is concerned, he is probably among the top three. It may be impossible for him to come here again in the future, to the Fengtian Palace.

Emperor Jiajing was not a fool, on the contrary, he was extremely shrewd.

He is familiar with the routines of officialdom, including various hidden rules.

However, what's the use of knowing? Some things are already established facts, and even he, as the emperor, cannot change them.

As for the little guy peeking at him, Emperor Jiajing could see clearly. He was not old, probably less than twenty years old. He was quite conspicuous among a group of Gongsheng students who were mainly in their thirties and forties. The face is too tender.

On a whim, Emperor Jiajing put away his smile, but did not make a serious face, but nodded to him gently.

Well, even he himself didn't know what his action meant, and Wei Guangde in the audience naturally couldn't understand it.

I had heard a lot of gossip in the capital before. It was said that Emperor Jiajing liked to write some notes that normal people couldn't understand and give them to the cabinet for them to guess when he had something to do. Wei Guangde felt that it was mysterious.

Okay, now that Emperor Jiajing gave him the action, he couldn't figure out what it meant.

However, the palace examination process had come to this point, and Emperor Jiajing felt that it was almost done. He nodded to the eunuch Huang Jin beside him, then stood up and left Fengtian Palace. After the emperor left, other officials who had nothing to do with this palace examination also Withdrew one after another.

Because when the palace examination is being held, naturally no eunuch will shout "retreat from the court". Even when the high-ranking officials and nobles left the Fengtian Palace, they were careful and tried not to make any noise. The censor and the examiner were still watching eagerly.

Wei Guangde couldn't understand the meaning of the emperor's little move, but he had already begun to sharpen his ink at this moment, and it was not enough to remain in a daze.

The name, place of origin and other information written on the front of the paper are all written in a mess. This happens at the beginning of every imperial examination, and it will be sealed after a while.

Regarding the strategy for the palace examination, Wei Guangde was still trying to figure out whether it was better to flatter the emperor or flatter the emperor. Finally, he thought of several plans, chose one method, and let's get started.

"I heard from my ministers that the emperor governs the world. He must fulfill the duties of officials and then he can lead to the rule of the world. He must obtain the needs of officials and then he can enjoy the ease of the world."

This is the format of a policy discussion. Everyone must write "I will hear from my ministers" at the beginning, and then my own discussion will follow.

Let’s talk about the big principles first. When an emperor rules the world, he must have a method of selecting people to govern the world. He must acquire the skills to manage officials before he can enjoy the comfort of the world.

Then came the meaning of selecting talents. Wei Guangde was so eloquent but he didn't dare to write casually. Instead, he had to think over the answer several times in his mind before he dared to write it on the question paper.

This is a waste of time. Although the palace examination lasts for one day, it will last until sunset in the afternoon, when the paper will be forcibly collected, and the candidates' answering questions will end.

Although it was only a policy statement of a thousand words, it consumed countless brainpower of Wei Guangde.

Even if he has figured out how to write later, Wei Guangde still has to write carefully when writing the question paper. Perhaps because he was beaten too much when he was a child, Wei Guangde is not very confident in his calligraphy now.

Even if he is already a civil servant and a tribute scholar.

During the entire answering process, except for the invigilator, inspector and other examination room officials, all other officials had left, including the paper reader and other irrelevant deacons. The paper collecting officials could only wait outside the hall. After all, the candidates They usually hand in their papers in the afternoon. If candidates hand in their papers, they will come in and collect the answer papers according to the procedure.

After pondering for a long time, Wei Guangde wrote about two hundred words. At this time, he smelled a tangy fragrance. Is lunch coming?

Wei Guangde raised his nose and inhaled hard, then looked over in search of the smell. What was floating outside the hall, he didn't know what kind of delicious food he could eat at noon.

Wei Guangde thought so in his heart, his thoughts were a bit confused and he stopped writing. He continued to think about how to write later and waited for someone to bring lunch.

It's not that Wei Guangde is greedy, after all, it's the food in the palace.

But when their lunch was served, Wei Guangde frowned. There was no aroma of food that he had smelled before, just two steamed buns and a bowl of soup.

That's it, just send them away?

The supervisors in the main hall have already begun to take turns to go out to eat. Well, Wei Guangde knows that all the good things have been eaten by them.

Wei Guangde had no choice but to eat this little thing, which was too simple and too little, not enough for his daily meals.

I wanted to raise my hand and ask someone to bring some more, but seeing where this place was, I gave up the thought.

After eating and resting for a while, Wei Guangde continued writing.

But Wei Guangde didn't know that on the way back to Xiyuan, he was accidentally asked by Emperor Jiajing.

Well, Emperor Jiajing found it very interesting when the little guy looked up at the emperor during the palace examination.

Jinshi often peeked at the emperor during the Chuanlu Ceremony, but they peeked up secretly during the imperial examination. It seemed to be the first time in Emperor Jiajing's memory that he inadvertently asked the eunuch next to him.

There are some things that he, the emperor, can ignore, but the eunuch beside him has to know.

There are also rules for the positions of the tributes. They are all positioned according to their rankings and cannot make mistakes.

Emperor Jiajing could only roughly judge based on Wei Guangde's position that his performance in the examination might not be very good, but the specific number is unknown.

After the emperor asked, Huang Jin, the eunuch who had been serving for a long time beside him, did not speak, but glanced at Chen Hong on the side. He was more familiar with these matters in the foreign dynasty.

After listening to the emperor's question, Chen Hong thought about the position and age mentioned by the emperor, and roughly guessed who the person was. So he smiled flatteringly and said to Emperor Jiajing: "Your Majesty, the person you saw should be Wei Guangde." , he is the youngest among the tributes, only seventeen years old this year. ’

"Oh, no wonder you are so brave. It turns out he is the young general who went into battle to kill the enemy for me."

Emperor Jiajing just nodded slightly, "What's the score in the general examination?"