The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Before the imperial examination, Wei Guangde and other new scholars visited the president of the imperial examination, the examiner and his own house engineer as usual.

Lu Ben, as a cabinet minister, Wei Guangde and other Jinshi came to visit, but only received them as a courtesy.

"Congratulations to my mentor for being promoted to Crown Prince Shaobao and Grand Bachelor of Wuyingdian."

Just two days ago, Lu Ben, who was previously a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, received a commendation from Emperor Jiajing. Not only was he given the title of Sangu, he was also entrusted with the responsibility of inspecting the officials and science of Jiuqing Hall.

"Haha, Wei Chuanlu invites you to get up, you're welcome."

The visit this time was just to pay homage to his disciples on the pretext of promotion. However, Lu Ben's attitude towards these new scholars could only be said to be very enthusiastic but lacking in sincerity, and he did not show much acceptance in his words.

Well, Wei Guangde knew very well that Lu Ben had nothing to say here, and it was impossible to become attached to his sect. Perhaps it was because of his own reasons that the Yan family had made it clear that they wanted to take him under their wing, so Lu Ben himself could join the cabinet. It was thanks to Yan Song.

In Yintai's house, Wei Guangde's treatment was much better. Yin Tai and Wei Guangde talked a lot, and even mentioned Wei Guangde's room master Kang Siqian.

"You'd better revise and polish your best articles in the past few days to prepare for the next exam."

Yin Tai was extremely envious of his luck as a young countryman. He was originally ranked in the top three, but his articles were favored by the emperor and he was directly promoted to the top of the second class. It seems that such a situation has never happened before. It is really unheard of. Miracle.

After Wei Guangde nodded in agreement, he then said: "Tomorrow your room teacher Kang Siqian will go to Henan Anchasi Deputy Envoy to promote school. To be honest, you are where you are now only because of this teacher's advice. I will take a look at the test papers you know how to do." But, if it were me, I would never order you."

"Yes, I have already heard from the same year that we are all going to see the teacher off tomorrow morning."

After hearing Yin Tai's words, Wei Guangde felt a little ashamed, but he still spoke.

"Ziyi took a more difficult path when he left the Hanlin Academy to serve as a scholar. If he can make achievements in Henan, he may be transferred to the Imperial College in the future, which may be of great benefit to you."

Yin Tai looked at Wei Guangde and said, his eyes fixed on the change of expression on Wei Guangde's face.

However, as Yin Tai said, Wei Guangde was more concerned about the imperial examination at the moment, so he didn't reveal any feelings towards Fang Shi Kang Siqian.

The next day, 21 Jinshi from Kang Siqian's room went together to see each other off outside the city.

After returning from outside the city, Wei Guangde began to focus on selecting the articles he had written in the past to prepare for the imperial examination.

In the past, Wei Guangde was still worried about the six imperial examinations, and he never paid attention to the imperial examination after the imperial examination.

However, today is different from the past. When Wei Guangde carefully studied the methods of the imperial examination, he felt very painful.

The imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty was implemented very early, and has been in existence since the time of Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. However, the imperial examination system currently implemented was indeed established in the Hongzhi Dynasty.

Chaokao is an examination for new scholars, mainly to select talents to enter the Hanlin Academy to serve as sage scholars.

Jinshi who failed to attack Shujishi would be assigned to various yamen according to their rank to watch the government. After the period of watching the government, they would be awarded the positions of chief secretary, Zhongshu, and county magistrate.

In principle, second-class Jinshi scholars have a greater chance of staying in Beijing, while third-class Jinshi scholars will mostly be sent to local areas to serve as parents.

"Those who are not Jinshi will not be admitted to the Hanlin, and those who are not Hanlin will not be admitted to the Cabinet."

If you want to be in the cabinet and become one of the helmsmen of the Ming Dynasty, the Hanlin Academy must fight hard.

Unfortunately, the imperial examination rules set by the Hongzhi Dynasty stated that "the number of essays, policies, poems, poems, poems, prefaces, notes and other texts written by new Jinshi in daily life should be no less than fifteen, and they should be submitted to the Ministry of Rites and sent to the Hanlin Academy for examination and editing. The young man has five new works. , you are also allowed to apply for the Hanlin Academy. Select those whose vocabulary, literature and science are acceptable, and take them according to the number. The Ministry of Rites will use the name of the examination paper, and together with the cabinet ministers, the examination will be held in the East Pavilion. If the examination paper is commensurate with the submitted essay, the pre-selection will be accepted."

That's when the imperial examination not only required the Jinshi to enter the examination room again to take the exam, but also required them to submit their previous articles, including essays, strategies, poems, poems, prefaces, and notes. The total number should not be less than fifteen. articles.

Then, Wei Guangde got into trouble.

He didn't even know what questions would be tested in the imperial examination, because the main purpose of the imperial examination was to select people who were good at literature and calligraphy. In the past, Wei Guangde's education was exam-oriented, and everything was aimed at the imperial examination, and he did not have any achievements in poetry, poetry, and poetry. Achievements.

And this amount is really a lot, enough to hand over fifteen old works.

Wei Guangde was not good at poems, lyrics, and poems, so he could only write temporary policies and discussions. Anyway, it was just to use the insights of later generations to see what he could do.

As for the problem, let’s look at the policies of the provincial examination.

The one in Jiangxi was definitely not usable. He had already written it, so he went to Zeng Shengwu and other provincial Jinshi to ask them about the test questions for the provincial examination. In the end, in order to make up fifteen articles, he found all the questions from the previous provincial examinations and finally wrote them temporarily. Fifteen policy papers were published.

Well, Wei Guangde's level of writing policy essays really shocked all the Jinshi. They didn't know how he got such a big brain. Each article in the policy essays covered something new. Although it is inconspicuous at first glance, after careful analysis, the added Those new things seem to make sense.

In this way, Wei Guangde's talent for being quick-witted and having a unique perspective on things was spread among the Jinshi.

It is useless to hide things that have to be handed over to the Hanlin Academy. Wei Guangde is rare and generous this time to let others see.

Of course, Wei Guangde actually has his own ideas. He thinks that people in this era are smart, but the limitations of the times prevent them from seeing many things, and their ideas are not as divergent as those of later generations.

He also hopes that through his articles, more Jinshi can raise their concerns from a higher level when considering issues, and look at affairs from the shoulders of giants.

This can be regarded as him giving full play to his strengths. I remember when bidding farewell to Master Kang Siqian, his mentor said that he liked the strategies he wrote. Definitely Wei Guangde may be a practical person.

On April 1, Wei Guangde, Lao Kan and others got up early to wash up, and then took a carriage to Chengtianmen. This time they no longer gathered at Damingmen, but directly outside Chengtianmen.

Under the leadership of officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, the Jinshi entered the Forbidden City for the third time. The purpose was naturally to take the imperial examination.

According to the system established in the 11th year of Jiajing, the imperial examination was conducted by the cabinet in conjunction with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, and the imperial censors supervised the examinations, and the Jin Yiwei inspected them.

The examination questions were nominally appointed by the emperor, but the cabinet was asked to draft the questions and the emperor made the selections.

The location of the imperial examination was in the East Pavilion. They entered from Chengtian Gate and passed through the Meridian Gate, then turned right and passed through the Zuishun Gate instead of continuing through Fengtian Gate as before, because Emperor Jiajing was not in the Forbidden City at the moment, and he still Stay in Xiyuan to perform rituals and practice your own magic.

Of course, for Wei Guangde, the difference between today's exam and the past is that it is much less stressful. It is similar to the palace exam, and there is no problem of who is eliminated.

Another difference is that this time Wei Guangde walked in the first row on the left side of the first row of Jinshi, and his position in the examination room was also ranked first. This was all based on the results of the imperial examination.

Well, this is the first time for Wei Guangde. It is the first time in his life to take an exam as a top student. It is a very novel experience.

Even in Wei Guangde's previous life, he was a scumbag from the middle and lower classes, and he had never been treated like this.

Wei Guangde, who was sitting in his seat, looked at the topic that was said to be proposed by the Hanlin Academy after consulting the two cabinet ministers Yan Song and Xu Jie. It was very simple, just two topics, one for policy and one for poetry.

In fact, for the Hanlin Academy, the results of an examination do not have much reference significance for them. What they refer more to when selecting Shujishi is actually the fifteen articles. A masterpiece may be the result of a burst of inspiration. They What matters more is the standard of the Jinshi in normal time.

The policy was obviously made by the cabinet. Given that natural disasters in various provinces are causing constant suffering for the people at the bottom, and in fact, small-scale riots have occurred one after another during this period, the cabinet naturally wants to ask about solutions.

Wei Guangde has some experience with this. When he traveled to various prefectures and counties in Jiangxi, he saw and heard a lot.

Jiangxi was a relatively wealthy place within the territory of the Ming Empire. The people at the bottom were miserable because of the drought. Even though the court exempted them from national taxes, local showdowns did not decrease. As a result, a large number of people had no choice but to go to the landowners and gentry. The family borrows money, firstly, to relieve temporary financial pressure, and secondly, to purchase production materials for subsequent farming.

The price is naturally the only land and property they have as collateral. Once they cannot repay the loan, they will become landless people and fall into the abyss.

Wei Guangde's response to this was actually not beyond the wisdom of the ancients. He chose Wang Anshi's Green Crop Method to deal with it. The government provided loans and grain loans to farmers, and charged an interest of two or three cents every six months, thus limiting the exploitation of farmers by loan sharks. .

Well, the countermeasure is a good countermeasure, but for the extremely poor Ming court, it is actually impossible to implement it.

Of course, this kind of discussion is only a small part of them. Most of them propose to rectify the administration of officials. Local unrest is mostly related to corrupt officials and local gentry. Rectifying the administration of officials can at least cure the symptoms.

If we want to cure the root cause, well, there doesn't seem to be many good solutions in later generations, unless we impose a business tax, transfer the bulk of taxes and levies from the fields to the mines, and collect taxes from the wealthy.

But can Wei Guangde mention it?

cannot.

At least not now.

There was nothing outstanding about it. In fact, Wei Guangde had some other ideas, but he still didn't dare to write them down. Not only was it harmful to Tianhe, but the main reason was that the operability was poor. It would be easier to rectify the officials and the cost would be lower.

Wei Guangde could only write like this. None of the cabinet ministers could find a good solution. Do you still expect a bunch of stupid young people to come up with any constructive suggestions?

As for poems with no restrictions on subject matter, Wei Guangde had no idea after thinking for a long time. He was used to being asked questions and dealing with them on his own. Now a poem with no restrictions on subject matter stumped Wei Guangde. It was still caused by his lack of background.

After sitting for a while, Wei Guangde remembered what he had done to Fang Kang Siqian a few days ago, on the ancient pavilion road, and to bid farewell to his mentor with a glass of wine.

Kang Siqian was also very happy to see them come to see each other off, and he gave instructions to every Jinshi he selected.

When he arrived at Wei Guangde, Kang Siqian said it very directly. In fact, it was similar to what the rural examiner said at the time, and he needed to study more. He was not selected because of his literary talent, but because of his good policy and theory. He was impressed by it and hoped that he could contribute to the country. Contribute to the people and become a capable official in the court.

There seem to be only two standards for officials in this era, either they are talented or they can get things done.

When thinking of farewell, Wei Guangde remembered the song "Farewell" by Mr. Li Shutong of later generations. Because of the popularity of the song, it became the only two complete poems that Wei Guangde could write for later generations.

However, that poem seems a bit inappropriate.

But at this time, Wei Guangde didn't care much anymore. Although he knew that later generations had some discussions about the word card of this poem, he was still very clear about this.

In fact, in this life, Wei Guangde carefully studied the two poems he had memorized. There are indeed many differences between "Farewell" and previous poems.

However, Wei Guangde also found two similar words, namely "Xi Qian Ying" and "Ruan Lang Gui".

The most appropriate thing is actually the high-pitched sentence pattern of the poem "Ruan Langgui", but the rhyme and rhyme are slightly changed, but it is still smooth to read.

The lyrics of "The Migrating Orioles" are mostly close to each other, with only a few differences, which can also be explained by variations.

Wei Guangde thought about some other things, but none of them were satisfactory. It seemed that he could only copy them and forget about it. Let's get over the current problems first. As for the possible disputes that may arise later, just pretend to be ostriches. They can say whatever they like. After all, the worst thing is that he is not talented enough. It should not be difficult for him to stay in Beijing and become an official.

Trouble, the next step is to prepare to buy a house in the capital.

After becoming a Beijing official, naturally I can't continue to live in Jiujiang Guild Hall forever, so I'd better move out.

As for the collective dormitories provided by the imperial court, Wei Guangde did not intend to live in them. Not only were the conditions poor, but the rent was not cheap either. It meant that they occupied a good location and were convenient for commuting to and from get off work.

Well, Wei Guangde's thoughts were divergent now and he completely forgot that he was still in the exam.

When I came back to my senses, I didn't know how much time had passed, but I had already started handing in the paper in the same year.

Wei Guangde didn't want to waste any more time, so he directly wrote "Farewell".

"Outside the pavilion, beside the ancient road, the green grass reaches the sky. The evening wind blows the willow flute, and the sun sets outside the mountain.

At the end of the sky, at the corner of the earth, there are only a few close friends. A pot of turbid wine is all that's left to enjoy, don't sleep in the cold tonight. "

I silently thought to the author of this poem that I'm sorry. My brother borrowed it first. You have great literary talent and you will definitely be able to write another popular masterpiece.

After finishing the questions, Wei Guangde checked them again. This is also a habit of taking exams. It won't be possible to change for a while, and there is no need to change. You should still have a test-taking attitude.

When the job was done, Wei Guangde stood up and handed in the paper.

In fact, Wei Guangde sometimes thought highly of himself. As for his literary talents, most people in the officialdom were already very aware that his literary talents were average and slightly below average. He just got lucky and was favored by the emperor.

No one paid much attention to Wei Guangde's eight-legged writing, because it was impossible to write brilliantly.

However, due to the provincial examination that year, the evaluation of Wei Guangde's good policy theory was still widely circulated in the officialdom. Therefore, even the three cabinet ministers were very concerned about today's imperial examination. They hoped that Wei Guangde could come up with something they had not thought of. Solution.

However, Wei Guangde's paper was destined to disappoint them.