The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In the Renxu Imperial Examination, the name of Yan Song, the chief minister of the dynasty, was not included among the examiners. How is this possible?

Wei Guangde's brain was calculating rapidly at this time, thinking about the meaning.

But the next moment, he felt that his hands were empty, and the note had been snatched away by Yin Shizhen.

"There really is no Yan Song, how could it be possible?"

Wei Guangde looked up and saw Yin Shizhen constantly turning the note over and over, as if he wanted to see the person's name from the corner on the back, and couldn't help but murmur.

After a long while, Yin Shizhen finally calmed down. The main reason was that it was not because he and Wei Guangde were dazzled at the same time, so there really was no Yan Song or Yan Chief Assistant among the readers this time.

What Wei Guangde didn't know was that the news spread like a wind through all the major yamen in the capital, and many people didn't believe it the first time they heard the news.

The meaning behind this is too obvious. This seems to be a sign that Yan Song will lose power. It seems that there was no news at all before.

When did Yan Song hate Emperor Jiajing?

no one knows.

Many people immediately sent their clerks to confirm the list of readers. In fact, there was no need for them to check, because after the decree was issued, the angels in the palace notified the people who had the decree, and they were also the nominal supervisors. The officials on the list can only temporarily live in the government offices and are no longer allowed to go home.

"Dad, Your Majesty, this is a sign that you are going to take action."

After Yan Shifan heard the news, he hurriedly walked into Yan Song's duty room in the cabinet, sent the clerk out, and guarded outside. Only his father and son were in the room.

"As long as His Majesty doesn't know about the little tricks you are doing behind your back, our family will be fine."

Yan Song sat in a daze and answered Yan Shifan's words.

He had thought about such a day countless times, but when the signal was sent, he felt that he still couldn't calm down in his heart. Even though he was already over eighty years old, he was supposed to be used to the harsh world, but he was still open-minded. stand up.

"Of course Your Majesty will not know."

Yan Shifan also knew that he seemed to be half a step too late. His father had just asked for grace from His Majesty to relieve him of Ding's worries. He did not expect that this would happen in just half a year.

It was impossible to say that he was not panicking at all, but Yan Shifan still pretended to be calm at this time and said: "Dad, before I came here, my son had someone let out the news, saying that his father was not feeling well, so he was asking for grace and not to participate in this." Read the volume for the second time.”

Hearing this, Yan Song looked up at Yan Shifan and nodded slightly.

Whether others believe it or not, there is at least one reason why it is not.

"In a while, or even later, I'm afraid many people will come to see dad."

Yan Shifan said again.

"I know."

Of course Yan Song and his son knew who would come. They were what the outside world called Yan Party officials. They must have been very flustered when they came.

Why did they join Yan Song's sect? Isn't it because he was favored and had huge power, which could provide them with convenience and support in the officialdom.

Once Yan Song falls, there is no doubt that they will encounter counterattacks from the people they used to oppose. Without the protection of Mr. Yan Ge, they really have no confidence in resisting.

"This day will come after all."

Yan Song just said lightly.

"Okay, don't think too much, everyone. Mr. Yan Ge is not in good health. After all, at such an old age, it is normal to ask for grace from my father."

In Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu sat in the upper position and smiled.

Someone has just circulated a rumor that the reason why there is no more senior Yan Ge as the examination examiner this time is because Senior Yan Ge was getting older and felt that this job was too much for him, so he took the initiative to resign.

"hehe."

Yin Shizhen and others sitting below were all smiling and didn't say much.

Although everyone had doubts about what was going on, no one dared to go to the cabinet or Xiyuan to ask.

However, rumors among the public came out to explain the matter so quickly, and everyone always felt that it was unusual.

"In this imperial examination, who do you think is most likely to win the top prize?"

King Yu changed the topic at this time.

Every year when the examination comes, the focus of attention in the capital is naturally who can win the first prize, and who will win the first prize in the end.

Not only is everyone in the officialdom talking about it, but the people are also very enthusiastic about it.

It’s not that the common people are really interested in the No. 1 pick. After all, they belong to other people’s families. The reason they care about it is the gambling shops in the streets and alleys of the capital. At this time, most of them will offer handicap for this, allowing gamblers to place bets on winning or losing. Naturally Attract people's attention.

It doesn’t take much. People and gamblers are naturally willing to try their luck when it comes to betting on the number one pick. A few taels, dozens of taels or even a hundred taels of silver are not too much for anyone, and a few or dozens of copper coins are not too much for others. Young man, it should be a pleasure.

Although the income of the people in the capital cannot be said to be higher than other places in the Ming Dynasty, it is still relatively high.

As long as you are willing to work, you can still earn a few taels of silver a year. As long as you don't waste it and have somewhere to spend it, you will always have some 2 or 3 taels of silver left after a year, which is thousands of copper coins. Naturally, you will be less enthusiastic about betting. high.

"They should be the two from Suzhou."

When Yin Shizhen heard King Yu ask who was most likely to win the title of champion, he immediately said with a smile.

King Yu is right to say that he is a nice person, but there are two things that are more criticized, namely, his lust and gambling.

Every time there was such a gambling game in the capital, he would let someone get involved. Instead of being the banker himself, he would ask Gao Gong and his subordinate officials to help analyze it, and then send people to outside gambling houses to place bets.

When King Yu asked about it at this time, needless to say, he would definitely ask someone to place a bet later.

Yin Shizhen didn't know whether this was considered a joy between the royal family and the people.

As for the two people in Suzhou Prefecture he mentioned, they naturally refer to the two people who had the best scores in this examination and were the most valued. They are Wang Xijue of Taicang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili and Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili. Xu Shixing.

By winning the title of Huiyuan, Wang Xijue at least took the lead in the battle for the No. 1 pick. He was half a body ahead. However, among the scholars in the capital, there were not a few who were optimistic about Xu Shixing. The last person remains unpredictable.

Wang Xijue and Xu Shixing. Wei Guangde only had a vague impression of these two names. Wang Xijue should be a person with some fame in the Ming Dynasty. The name Xu Shixing just felt familiar, but he really couldn't remember who won the number one title.

After Yin Shizhen answered the call and began to analyze the pros and cons of the two, and soon Zhang Juzheng and Tang Ruji also participated, Wei Guangde sat quietly in his seat, put his left hand in his sleeve and started counting with his fingers.

The index finger is Wang Xijue, and the middle finger is Xu Shixing.

Wei Guangde thought in his mind, put his thumb on his index finger, and silently counted the word "number one scholar" in his mind, and then his thumb began to move between the two fingers.

In fact, Taoism talks about counting with the fingers, and in later film and television works, those who have mastered Taoism stretch out their right hands and count with the fingers to know the good or bad. In fact, the techniques in the play are wrong.

According to Taoist pinching, each hand has fourteen joints, and the two hands have a total of 28 joints, representing the 28 underground palaces.

The left hand is yin and the right hand is yang. To pinch your fingers, you usually use your thumb to pinch the remaining four fingers. The four fingers actually represent the ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches. There are also many types of gestures, and both hands are used. Use it.

Wei Guangde is not a member of the orthodox Taoist sect. He has seen these things from the Taoist books he bought and remembered them, but he has not studied them in depth, let alone studied them carefully.

At this time, just choose the simple method, so that you can at least determine your own position.

Soon, the thumb rests on the middle finger.

Xu Shixing?

Wei Guangde counted the results with his fingers, and there was a high probability that Xu Shixing would be the top candidate in the imperial examination.

At this time, King Yu also noticed Wei Guangde who had been sitting there silently, so he smiled and said to him: "Shandai, what do you think, is Wang Xijue or Xu Shixing more likely to win the top prize?"

Previously, Yin Shizhen and others had expressed their respective positions. Yin Shizhen and Tang Ruji were interested in Wang Xijue, while Zhang Juzheng was more optimistic about Xu Shixing.

In fact, after taking the exam, there is no doubt about the talents of both of them. It just depends on who has better luck in the end.

As for Yu Youding, Qi Yuanzuo and others behind them, no one paid attention to them.

Therefore, their so-called positions are actually more judgments based on personal feelings.

Wei Guangde calculated with his fingers that Xu Shixing won the first prize. It seemed that if he said it, the total score would be 2 to 2, which would probably make King Yu depressed.

Wei Guangde did not participate in such a meeting in the 38th year of Jiajing's reign. He only heard Gao Gong mention it. Anyway, King Yu lost two hundred taels of silver in a bet that time.

King Yu is indeed very democratic and can listen to what the people below him say.

"Your Highness, I am optimistic about Xu Shixing."

At this time, Wei Guangde still said his answer loudly, but visible to the naked eye, Prince Yu's face became a little dark.

In the previous situation, the scale in King Yu's heart had already tipped towards Wang Xijue, but now he asked himself, well, he didn't know who to bet on who would win.

In King Yu’s view, scholars should know best about scholars’ matters.

Although he had failed in guessing the top pick several times before, King Yu was still very enthusiastic about this matter and still believed in his officials.

After all, they were people who were killed out of thousands of troops, and they were sent to him by his father. They must all be people he thought were capable.

Therefore, despite repeated defeats, he still chose to fight again and again. In order to make up for his losses, he doubled the money he spent on the No. 1 pick each time.

In his opinion, it doesn't matter if you lose once or twice, as long as the bet is enough, and if you win once, you will get it all back.

And he just has this capital.

The last time he bet on the No. 1 pick, he bet 200 taels. This time he made up his mind to bet 500 taels of silver, hoping to make back his capital with profits.

King Yu hesitated, whether he should bet on Wang Xijue or Xu Shixing.

"What's the reason?"

King Yu asked unwillingly.

Wei Guangde chuckled and said, "Your Highness, at this time, both Wang Xijue and Xu Shixing are capable of winning the first prize. As for who has the last laugh, that is His Majesty's will."

"bet"

In the end, King Yu did not say that the bet was really based on Emperor Jiajing's wishes, although this was not considered speculation.

"Your Highness, do you know the origin of Xu Shixing?"

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly spoke.

He was a troublemaker. When Wei Guangde said this, he became more optimistic about Xu Shixing. The reason was naturally that Xu Shixing really had an extraordinary experience.

King Yu also became interested when he heard this, "Tell me about it."

"There are two rumors. One is that Xu Shixing's surname was Shen. His ancestor was a wealthy businessman in Suzhou. However, his family declined and his parents died one after another. Therefore, he was adopted by his uncle's Xu family, so he changed his surname to Xu.

Second, Xu Shi's family was originally from a poor family. His ancestors wanted him to survive, so he was adopted by a family named Xu.

The similarity between the two rumors is that Xu Shixing's real surname is Shen, which should be correct. "

Zhang Juzheng said that he would keep silent here. After all, it is not good to talk too much about other people's privacy, as it would give people the impression of gossiping behind others' backs.

Wei Guangde heard this rumor for the first time and looked at Zhang Juzheng in surprise.

He had enough things to worry about these days, so he had no time to inquire about the experiences of those who would be on the list this time.

"Xu Shixing, Shen Shixing"

Wei Guangde just muttered it a few times and couldn't remember whether the name in his mind was Xu or Shen.

Well, he was confused.

"Speaking of it, our Jiajing Dynasty is really true, haha."

Before King Yu could say anything, Yin Shizhen started laughing.

"What's wrong?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously. He didn't understand what Yin Shizhen meant.

"The thing about Mr. Lu Ge, when Mr. Lu Ge was taking the imperial examination, Li Ben was still recorded in the imperial examination. It was not until after the imperial examination that the restored surname was given.

However, his surname was mistakenly listed as Li in the picture book. In fact, their family name was Lu.

It is not easy to change the map book. It involves the entire county, the prefecture, the Chief Envoy, and the Ministry of Household Yellow Register. Therefore, even if Mr. Lu Ge is admitted to the imperial examination, he can only register as Li Ben and take the examination with the surname Li. In the palace examination, he failed to pass the imperial examination and was honored as a Jinshi, so he submitted a petition to change the records and restore his original surname. "

Yin Shizhen said with a smile.

"Speaking of this, I actually know someone who also changed his surname."

Zhang Juzheng also became interested in chatting about gossip.

"Who is it?" King Yu asked curiously, "And why did you change your surname?"

Changing one's surname was not a trivial matter in ancient times. What did the rangers say? "It doesn't matter whether you change your name or not."

At the end of "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the Five Emperors", the name system of the Five Emperors era is recorded.

"From the Yellow Emperor to Shun and Yu, they all had the same surname, but they had different national titles to highlight their respective virtues. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor was named Youxiong, the Emperor Zhuanxu was named Gaoyang, the Emperor Ku was named Gaoxin, and the Emperor Ku was named Gao Xin. Yao's name was Tao Tang, Emperor Shun's name was Youyu. Emperor Yu's name was Xia Hou, and another surname was separated, with the surname Si. Qi was the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty, and his surname was Zi."

It can be seen from this that surnames represent morality, and people have surnames out of their expectations for people's morality.

In the traditional concept, children are born not because their parents have the right to name them, but for the moral inheritance of the family. Without a surname, there is no moral basis. To deny a surname is to deny one's own morality and the family. inherited.

"Liu Xian, the camp officer and governor of Nanjing, heard that his real surname was Gong, and he was a fellow villager in Heshandai. He should be from Nanchang Prefecture. When he was living in Sichuan, he received the favor of the censor named Liu and changed his surname to Liu. He also pretended to be a Sichuan native to participate in martial arts examinations. He was able to join the army because of his high martial arts skills and his career as a martial artist rose step by step."

Zhang Juzheng said with a smile.