Chapter 215: The examination is over, Wenquxing is moving
Chapter 215: The examination is over, Wenquxing is moving (asking for double monthly tickets)
At the end of January, the first martial saint monk Xiong Chan in a hundred years of the Dayu Dynasty entered the capital.
The first thing to do was to go to the Nanzhili Guild Hall to meet Xu Qing.
During this time, the two dismissed their attendants and no one knew what they said in private. But the content of their conversation was not important to the various forces in the capital.
The key point is that Xu Jieyuan was the first person the monk visited after arriving in Beijing.
This move is very intriguing.
After paying a visit to Xu Qing, Master Xiong Chan followed the imperial order and moved into Prince Yu's palace to practice.
Inviting a martial saint to reside in the palace is a very encouraging thing, even for Prince Yu, the de facto crown prince.
However, the evaluation of the emperor as "Duke Rong" also spread quickly in the capital.
According to gossip, after Xiong Chan Wu Sheng moved into the palace, he has not met Prince Yu so far, but he has gone to the Western Garden to explain Buddhism to the old emperor several times.
Rumor has it that the great monk explained Taoist scriptures using Buddhist teachings, which was quite to the old emperor's liking.
After each lecture on Buddhism, he received many rewards, and even the Great Zen Temple was rewarded.
Some princes and nobles couldn't help but sigh. In fact, it was not that Your Majesty did not like Buddhism before, but that there was no contemporary Arhat like Master Xiong Chan to preach to Your Majesty.
Now that Your Majesty has realized the true meaning of Buddhism, which is similar to the subtle mysteries of Taoist scriptures, how can we not be happy?
For a time, the temples near the capital became more popular than before.
In fact, it was mainly due to the implementation of the Single Whip Law and the fact that the court had gained power from maritime trade. As a result, the amount of silver increased and many wealthy and noble people in the capital had more silver in their hands, which they urgently needed to lend out for profit.
Temples have always been a natural lending platform.
After all, people in the Dayu Dynasty were very practical. If they didn’t want too much, why would they pray to gods and Buddhas?
Those who have desires and needs are naturally suitable targets for lending.
Moreover, after the annual imperial examination, it is also the peak period for lending in Beijing.
Many officials in Beijing and newly-appointed scholars have to borrow money to survive.
These are quality customers.
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Considering that it was not easy to live in the capital, Xu Qing provided certain subsidies to the Juren and Jinshi of Nanzhili who were in financial difficulties in the name of Fushe and Nanzhili Guild Hall.
In fact, the difficulties in life for these people do not lie in food, clothing and other daily necessities, but in the fact that they need to spend a lot of money on social favors.
In addition to subsidies, there are also loans of a certain amount without interest, and the terms are also very flexible.
Any scholar from Nanzhili who met the requirements could receive these benefits.
However, Xu Qing had no intention of lending a helping hand to the scholars outside Nanzhili.
Firstly, the cost was too high, and secondly, if he did so, he would easily get into a lot of unnecessary trouble. Because Xu Qing couldn't keep an eye on everything, and even if others didn't dare to provoke him, it was still easy for him to get away with it in small matters.
Once anything becomes big, it depends on the system and the basic foundation, not on individuals.
All of these require long-term theoretical practice to continuously consolidate and expand the foundation.
In this regard, Xu Qing and the Prime Minister have the same approach, but the Prime Minister has the power of the court and his approach is more radical, but the quality of his work is not as good as Xu Qing's.
The key lies in the basic foundation.
The Prime Minister used the foundation of the past Dayu Dynasty, and Xu Qing's foundation was transformed by himself. I can't say it is very good, but it is definitely not worse than the original foundation of the Dayu Dynasty.
In Nanzhili, Xu Qing had to fight with other gentry and nobles. When he arrived in the capital, all the gentry who came from Nanzhili naturally regarded Xu Qing as their leader.
Because in the capital, their interests need to be protected by a strong figure like Xu Qing, and they also need a figure like Xu Qing to lead them in expansion.
The cake of the world is so big. If others have more, you will have less, so you have to fight for it.
Of course, in name, the Nanzhili Party in the capital today can be said to be the Wu Party, which is mainly composed of people from Wu. The apparent leader is Liang Ge Lao, but the actual person in charge is Xu Jieyuan.
This is a dual-talker structure.
Liang Ge Lao mainly serves as a mascot and atmosphere group.
The old man thought very clearly that it was pointless for him to fight for power. Even if he got the power, he would not live for many years. How could he survive Xu Qing?
It would be great if he gave up power early and before retiring, he could rely on Xu Qing to help him and become the Prime Minister for a while.
In addition, Xu Qing and Xiong Chan roughly discussed the plan to deal with the Black Mountain Old Demon, but the specific actions still had to wait until Xu Qing completed the process of the joint examination and the palace examination.
The chief examiner of this examination was Zuodu Yushi Huo Jing.
It was also part of the political deal between the Prime Minister and Shangshu Wang.
The person who succeeded the Minister of Personnel was the Minister of Revenue Wang Gong.
The new Minister of Revenue is Chen Fu, a capable assistant to the Prime Minister.
After the dust settled, Lord Zhang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, broke through the defense directly.
Because Chen Fu was only the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, his rank was slightly lower than that of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. However, with the official position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he served as the Governor of Dongshan Province for one year and then jumped to the high position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Lord Zhang felt extremely regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have listened to Xu Qing and planned for the position of Minister of Revenue.
The result was a complete failure.
If the imperial examination was not imminent, it would be very easy for him, a Vice Minister of Personnel, to go to Xu Qing and cause controversy. Vice Minister Zhang would definitely have asked Xu Qing for help.
Now Xu Qing has closed the door and refuses to see anyone.
Moreover, the chief examiner of the imperial examination is Huo Jing, who is the last banner of the conservatives.
His being the chief examiner of the imperial examination was obviously disadvantageous to Xu Qing.
Moreover, Huo Jing lost his position as the Minister of Personnel, which was obviously directly related to the fact that Xu Qing's father-in-law Feng Xifeng took the credit for quelling the mutiny.
In official circles, this is a grudge that stands in the way.
Although the ranking of the provincial examination does not affect the palace examination, if Huo Jing forces Xu Qing to get a lower ranking, it will also make Xu Qing lose face.
Of course, as a world-famous champion in Nanzhili, and as Xu Qing was the de facto leader of the Nanzhili Party, no matter how crazy Huo Jing was, he would not dare to let Xu Qing fail in the imperial examination.
However, rumors have it that Xu Jieyuan’s dream of winning six prizes in a row will be shattered this time.
There was also news coming from the inner court, saying that the higher-ups felt Xu Jieyuan was too powerful and needed to be suppressed.
There are many rumors.
Anyway, I was very pessimistic about Xu Jieyuan's winning the first place in the imperial examination and winning five prizes in a row.
For this reason, some powerful people started a betting game to bet on whether Xu Qing could win the first place.
At one time, many people of all ages in the capital participated in it.
Out of trust in the casino owner, Yan Shan secretly bet 1,000 taels of silver on the chance to win the first prize when the gambling started.
But recently, the Left Censor-in-Chief made a harsh statement in a brothel, saying that it was not that he did not want to take revenge, but that the time had not come yet.
Xu Jieyuan's chances of winning were sharply reduced.
Yan Shan didn't sleep well all night.
That’s one thousand taels!
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"Dad, this is the one hundred taels of silver awarded by the prince. Use it to bet on Xu Jieyuan to win the first place in the exam for me." Feng Cai took out the silver.
Feng Qingtian now felt a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have taken his daughter away by force, wandering around the world, or going overseas. But he could see that his daughter obviously didn't want to leave the palace.
Fortunately, the young master was very understanding and did not doubt him because of his daughter's matter. Instead, he told him to be at ease and go to Prince Yu's mansion to see his daughter if he could. He did not need to hide if Prince Yu looked for him.
To Feng Qingtian, the young master treated him as a national hero, and he should repay him as a national hero.
But he always felt strange that his daughter used the silver rewarded by Prince Yu to bet on his son to win the first place in the exam.
Doesn’t my daughter know about the celebration between Prince Yu and Young Master?
He had clearly mentioned it before.
Feng Cai saw her father's expression and said, "The prince has been staying at home recently, reciting Buddhist scriptures and not caring about other things. You don't have to worry about anything."
"You have a lot of expenses in the palace, so you should keep this hundred taels. If you don't win the first prize, wouldn't it be a waste?"
Feng Cai smiled and said, "Dad, don't worry. My daughter is betting so hard, I'm sure she'll win. Xu Jieyuan will definitely win the first place in this subject."
"How do you know?" If Xu Qingzhong won the first place, Feng Qingtian would of course be extremely happy, but recent rumors were quite unfavorable to Xu Jieyuan.
Feng Cai smiled: "Dad, you are confused."
She lowered her voice and said, "The prince couldn't make Xu Jieyuan suffer, I don't believe Lord Huo can do it."
Feng Qingtian couldn't help but smile bitterly, but his daughter's words really revealed the essence of the matter.
If Lord Huo can make the young master suffer, where will Prince Yu's face be?
Therefore, even if Huo Jing was the chief examiner of the imperial examination this time, he could not change the result that the young master won the first place.
Feng Cai smiled calmly.
There are many smart people in this world, but not many can see through phenomena and get to the essence of things.
In her opinion, before Prince Yu defeated Xu Jieyuan, no one in the court would be able to defeat Xu Jieyuan.
In a sense, Xu Jieyuan represents His Majesty's suppression of the prince.
The prince was always indignant and uneasy about the suppression by His Majesty. On the contrary, Feng Cai felt in his heart that the prince's position as crown prince could not be more secure.
Just think about it, if the prince was not the crown prince that Your Majesty had confirmed in his heart, why would Your Majesty suppress him so harshly?
It is precisely because the prince is the true crown prince and poses the greatest threat to the throne that he is suppressed by His Majesty from time to time.
It’s just that her personality in front of the prince is that of a little innocent girl, so she never talks about these things.
In this big world, nothing could be more important than her giving birth to a dragon grandson.
Moreover, she had a crazy idea in her heart, which was to let her son's birthday be on the same day as His Majesty's.
I must give birth to a son this time.
She also had a feeling that it would be a son.
Feng Qingtian used his daughter's private money to place the bet. After returning, he felt that he had to explain the matter to the young master.
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Hearing this, Xu Qing smiled and said, "Brother Feng, our niece is not simple. You don't have to worry about her in the future." "Ah, I don't know, she is so young, how can she have so many thoughts. Sir, you lead me as a national scholar, Feng will never let you down."
Xu Qing: "Brother Feng, don't feel too burdened. Even if one day you do something out of the ordinary for my daughter, it is the love between father and daughter. It is natural and cannot be avoided."
"Feng will never do such a thing. If it really comes to that, I will..."
Xu Qing: "Brother Feng, don't think too much before something happens. In fact, in my opinion, your daughter is very useful to me. She is a sensible person, and we will always have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."
Xu Qing said meaningfully.
In fact, he was not worried at all that Feng Qingtian would do something bad to him because of his daughter, because Xu Qing had the lucky little dragon who could detect danger in advance.
Therefore, he has always been very generous when employing people.
The old emperor would worry all day long that there were always villains trying to harm him, but with Xu Qing, he had few concerns in this regard.
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After Xu Qing comforted Feng Qingtian, he waited quietly for the examination to begin.
Huo Jing was appointed as the chief examiner for this imperial examination, which was also a part of the political deal between the Prime Minister and Wang Gong. One of the conditions was to make Xu Qing the undisputed first in the imperial examination.
In the eyes of the Prime Minister, Xu Qingzhong's victory in the imperial examination was a big event.
Because Xu Qing failed to win the first place, the impact was too huge.
But directly letting Lao Liang be the chief examiner and selecting Xu Qing as the first place also lacks credibility. Huo Jinglai was appointed as the chief examiner, which was a compromise in the court struggle and also to clear Xu Qing's name.
The reason why Huo Jing said something unfavorable to Xu Qing was to lay the groundwork in advance.
Of course, in addition to these things, Xu Qing also has to come up with a convincing article.
In this regard, the Prime Minister naturally has nothing to worry about.
Although the system of the imperial examination is more rigorous and cheating is very difficult, the chief examiner has the power to search for lost papers, which means he is bound to find the papers he wants.
What's more, Xu Qing's articles are definitely the best.
There is no doubt about this.
As long as Huo Jing does not object to this article, he will naturally be able to point out Xu Qing.
In addition, as the chief examiner, Huo Jing must have conducted advance investigation and research on the essays of outstanding candidates in this imperial examination.
Because the imperial examination itself is also an opportunity to expand one's power.
Do some homework ahead of time, of course.
Soon, the day of the imperial examination arrived.
The weather has been sunny and windy these days, making people feel happy.
The group escorted Xu Qing out of the examination room.
Xu Qing instructed everyone: "Just send it here, everyone go back."
As he spoke, his voice was clear and melodious, like the cry of a phoenix, and it carried with it an upright and unquestionable majesty.
Xu Qing said goodbye to those who were seeing him off and walked among the crowded crowd of candidates.
His steps had a wonderful rhythm, as if in harmony with etiquette, rules, and natural law, making people subconsciously make way for him, and believe from the bottom of their hearts that the person in front of them, what he said, and what he did were all correct and should be emulated and followed.
Wherever he is, there is courtesy.
The disorder of the candidates became order.
Outside the examination hall, the officials who were maintaining order were shocked.
They had never seen any imperial examination with such a stable order as the current one.
The candidates for the imperial examination were all juren gentlemen, and during the process of queuing and body searches, some conflicts were inevitable, but of course there were also cases where officials deliberately humiliated juren gentlemen.
All in all, the search and looting during each trial is never smooth.
Now that Xu Qing appeared, his pace seemed to have established etiquette and rules, making everything become orderly.
To turn disorder into order, this is the "Wuji Heavenly Sound" that Xu Qing comprehended by combining the Tai Chi classics with his own Confucian and Taoist practice, as well as the tiger and leopard thunder sounds.
The foundation of this magical power is still based on Tai Chi boxing classics.
In fact, there is no essential difference between this and the Sanskrit sounds and demonic sounds of Buddhism. They are all mainly aimed at guiding people's hearts and influencing their minds.
If Xu Qing is the evil demon that everyone wants to kill, then when he uses this mysterious sound, it becomes the Heavenly Demon Sound.
He is a great monk, that is Fanyin.
He is a Taoist priest, and that is Xianyin.
Whether the supernatural power is good or bad depends on the person.
Xu Qing finally stepped into the most solemn and dignified examination hall in the world - the Imperial Examination Hall.
The holy statues here are more majestic and masculine than those in the Yanshenggong Mansion.
In fact, the statues in the Yanshenggong Mansion have not been intact for thousands of years. After the war, they were repaired or reshaped. More importantly, the scholars who came to the Imperial Examination Hall were the elite of scholars in the world. The huge and masculine statues they worshipped were naturally very powerful.
It is impossible to say that a scholar who has reached the level of a juren has no moral principles in his heart. At least he has some understanding of the profound meaning of words.
Moreover, when scholars took the examination for the Juren degree, they mainly took the eight-legged essay, but whether they passed the Juren degree or the Jinshi degree, they were all masters, so they did not have as much fighting spirit as the scholars, and had more leisure time to read more ancient books and reshape their own knowledge system.
In short, many scholars in the Dayu Dynasty did not have the time to study literature and history other than the Four Books and Five Classics. They would gradually make up for this after passing the imperial examinations.
Or maybe he started to study miscellaneous subjects only after knowing that he had no hope of passing the imperial examination.
In fact, in Xu Qing's view, erudition and specialization are not contradictory. The key lies in giving equal importance to thinking and learning.
Learning without thinking means nothing, thinking without learning means nothing.
It is not only important to know why something is so.
Once you master the method of learning and thinking, your thinking will not be constrained by the rules and regulations in the book.
But everyone understands the principle, but it is actually very painful to put it into practice.
So timely feedback is important.
It was with the feedback from the bronze mirror that Xu Qing became stronger step by step.
After entering the examination room, Xu Qing sat silently in his own examination room, waiting for the process to be completed before starting to answer the questions. The questions were standard.
This is in line with the convention of the imperial examination.
The questions in the imperial examination are also mainly based on being correct and the most important thing is not to make mistakes.
Xu Qing did not deliberately take risks, but combined what he had learned to write a plain and powerful article. His current writing style is very heavy and straightforward, more like the style of ancient philosophers.
He answered the questions at a moderate pace, neither too fast nor too slow, as if in tune with the flow of the day; the connection and connection of the content of his articles was like the flow of the 24 solar terms.
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The standards of the imperial examination are very high.
The officials in the examination room were all dressed in red and purple official uniforms.
Among them, Huo Jing, the Left Censor-in-Chief, was naturally the leader.
He lost the chance to be the Minister of Personnel, but gained the opportunity to be the chief examiner of the imperial examination. This deal was not a big loss after all. Moreover, he had already been the chief examiner of an imperial examination a few years ago.
Serving as the chief examiner of the imperial examinations twice was rare in the Qing Dynasty.
This greatly increased Huo Jing's reputation among the now declining conservative faction.
Many people compared him to Sima Gong, who opposed Wang Jingchuan's reforms in the previous dynasty. They said that given time, Huo Gong would be remembered by later generations and might even compile a masterpiece that was not inferior to Zizhi Tongjian.
Huo Jing found these words very useful.
In his opinion, leaving a name is more important than holding power.
He was not unaware of the benefits of reform, but in his opinion, reform would ultimately fail. If there was a change of dynasty in future generations, the cause of the dynasty's downfall would probably be attributed to the reform of the prime minister.
As long as you do something, you will definitely be found to have flaws and be criticized.
So since he criticized first, wasn't he destined to be remembered by future generations?
In his opinion, people like the Prime Minister and Xu Qing were destined to perish with both body and reputation. Only people like him could shine brightly in the long river of history, like rivers that flow forever.
What's wrong with giving Xu Qing the first place in the examination today?
He was destined to win, and Xu Qing and the Prime Minister were destined to lose.
If he endures the humiliation for a while, he will eventually get fair evaluation in the long river of history, and the sun and the moon will shine again.
Before I knew it, the examination was coming to an end.
Collect the papers, lock the door, and start marking the papers.
When the examiner started to copy the test papers, he was opening a test paper.
Under the dim oil lamp, in his eyes, every word on the test paper shone with great brilliance and light.
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Huo Jingzheng and the examiners reviewed the test papers. Everything was done according to the procedure and in an orderly manner.
Suddenly someone brought an urgent report.
Huo Jing and other examiners were shocked when they heard this. They didn't care about the rules of marking papers in the examination room and rushed to the copying room. They saw a test paper under the oil lamp, with every word shining brightly, as if even the roof had been broken through.
At this time, someone exclaimed towards the sky.
Huo Jing and others hurried to the yard and looked up at the sky.
I saw that the fourth star of the Big Dipper in Zi Wei Dou Shu suddenly shone brightly in the night sky, and the starlight was like a falling bucket.
"This is Wenquxing." An examiner exclaimed.
Huo Jing was in disbelief for a moment, and then he was distraught.
Wendong Beidou, or Wenquxing, is destined to go down in history!
(End of this chapter)