Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 276 Unpredictable Emperor's Heart

Xu Hong swallowed and spit, feeling a little excited at this moment.

Generally speaking, as long as the emperor is not too lazy, a small biography will be held before the biography ceremony, that is, the emperor will interview the top ten candidates.

This time he had excellent grades in the palace examination, and was fortunate to be one of the candidates called by Xiao Chuanlu, and everything that happened that day is still vivid in his mind.

A few days ago, that day was also sunny and fine, ten of them were led into Xiyuan by the eunuch.

The results ranking this time is surprising. Traditionally strong provinces in imperial examinations have not achieved satisfactory results in the general examination and palace examination, but now three of the ten most outstanding candidates are from Guangdong.

Besides himself and Zhang Sui, the other was Liu Cunye of Dongguan County, Guangzhou Prefecture.

Liu Cunye is actually quite famous in Guangdong. He passed the Guangzhou Academy Examination with excellent results when he was young, and took the Guangdong Provincial Examination in Chenghua in 19 and got No.2.

As the 23-year-old No.2 in the Guangdong Provincial Examination, and the "Shangshu" Jingkui, such an excellent result is unanimously favored by everyone, and even a fortune teller asserted that Liu Cunye has the appearance of the number one scholar.

Xu Hong was several years younger than Liu Cunye, and seeing such a dazzling Liu Cunye, he could only look up to him.It's just that after getting in touch and learning about some things later, I found that Liu Cunye lacked the ability to be independent, and he was not as good as himself in dealing with the world.

Take the rural examination high school as an example, it is said that no matter what you have to go to the capital immediately to participate in the next year's examination, in order to win the honor of Jinshi in the examination.

Liu Cunye made a surprising move. Because his mother was worried that he would be in danger when he went out for the first time, he voluntarily gave up the good opportunity to pursue the victory and did not go to the capital to participate in the next year's test.

Three years later, in the 23rd year of Chenghua, Liu Cunye finally prepared everything to come to the capital to participate in the first test of his life, but he left too late and missed the test time again.

If it were someone else, with his talent and the obsession to delve into the Four Books and Five Classics, he would have been nominated for the gold list early, but this indecisive character ended up missing the two chances of the exam in vain.

Fortunately, two years later, the Enke Examination was held in the second year of Hongzhi, which brought new opportunities to Liu Cunye.

This time Liu Cunye learned the lesson from the last time, left Guangzhou early and rushed to the capital, successfully participated in the general examination, and achieved good results in the imperial examination.

It's just a pity that Liu Cunye is already 30 years old, but he missed the golden age of entering the Imperial Academy.

fishing?

Really fishing!
We guessed right!
……

Xu Hong came to the edge of Taiye Pond, where ten fishing spots had been prepared, but he didn't expect them to guess the content of the test, and he couldn't help feeling excited.

"My mother taught me not to fish by the river since I was a child, so the students didn't dare to follow orders. Please ask your father-in-law to explain the reason to His Majesty for the students!" Liu Cunye suddenly stood up and refused solemnly.

Qian Fu laughed immediately, and looked at Liu Cunye mockingly: "I think you are deliberately making excuses for yourself, because you are afraid that losing will be too ugly!"

Xu Hong gave a bitter look, looking at the fellow with complicated eyes.

Although it seemed to be avoiding this competition, he knew that this was not an excuse, but the real reason for Liu Cunye's refusal.

Generally speaking, when their Cantonese students go north to the capital to take the exam, the first choice must be to go by water, beyond Meiling, via the Ganjiang River, and go north along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

It was just because Liu Cunye's mother said that it was dangerous to take a boat, so Liu Cunye went to Beijing almost by land, which is why he missed the time for the test when he went to Beijing for the first time.

That's why Liu Cunye was the only Cantonese tribute who didn't practice fishing before, and now he is throwing out this argument, presumably because of his mother's explanation.

"Your Majesty said it! Filial piety is commendable, so just stay by the side!" The emperor did not embarrass this matter, but arranged Liu Cunye to watch from the side.

The story of Wu Jinshi and Wu Sheng has already spread, so there is only a small amount of bait provided now.

Xu Hong went fishing with eight other people. Although he had practiced at Dongsheng Inn, his fishing skills were mediocre in the end, and he only caught two small fish in half an hour.

Fortunately, there are a few people behind who are even worse at fishing than him.

In fact, everyone has been immersed in the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, and it is impossible for anyone to waste time on fishing, so few people really know how to fish.

"Fishing is the only way to calm down!" The one who fished the most was Qian Fu, who was born on the edge of the Songjiang River. This time, he caught five fish in total, and he seemed very proud of himself.

Jin Gui and the others had achieved relatively little, and they seemed very depressed, but they knew that they had no chance of becoming the No. [-] scholar.If the ranking is based on catches, then the number one pick belongs to Qian Fu.

Qian Fu was born in a famous family. He claimed to be the ancestor of Wuyue Kingdom Wusu King Qian Liu. It is said that he was able to compose at the age of seven, and his poems and essays were even famous in the south of the Yangtze River.

Unlike everyone who concentrates on studying the Four Books and Five Classics, Qian Fu is actually a game master.Forget about good poetry and prose. I still like Cuju at ordinary times, so I wrote a "Cuju Poem" for this reason, one of which is quite flavorful: "Cuju is so delicate and weak, I hate to kill Chang'an's beautiful boy!"

It's just that no matter how talented or too playful, it's not a good thing, and Qian Fu was selected at the age of 25. He failed in the next year's general examination, and now he was named on the Enke Gold List.

Qian Fu mentioned a total of five fish, threw them in front of Liu Jin and said triumphantly, "I caught the most fish here, does it mean I'm the winner?"

"I'm afraid you have misunderstood! Your Majesty asked ten of you to fish here, just to let you experience the fun of this sport! How can such a dignified biography be such a joke, what the miscellaneous family will talk about next is the real test question!" Liu Jin Glancing at this arrogant young man lightly, he explained lightly.

Although Xu Hong's grades were considered relatively high, he could not help secretly heaving a sigh of relief when he learned that Xiao Chuanlu was not ranked by fishing.Just seeing Qian Fu's constipated expression made him feel extremely relieved.

At this moment, I can only say that the emperor did a great job.

But after thinking about it, how could the wise and mighty emperor be such a trifle? This fishing is indeed an appetizer, and the real fun comes later.

Among the other nine, Liu Cunye was the most excited. He was already destined to be ranked tenth, but he once again saw the hope of competing for the top spot.

Listening to Chao Pavilion, Zhu Youtang was drinking tea and admiring the scenery, so he naturally saw the reactions of the ten people below.

Just judging from the current feedback, the excellent answers to the palace examination questions may not necessarily be the talents he was looking for, and a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, why are your exam questions so weird that the servants can't understand the intention at all!" Han Youying asked in confusion as she became more and more feminine.

Zhu Youtang sized up the long-legged beauty in front of him, but smiled slightly: "You really have become more courageous. If you presumptuously speculate on the holy will, you will be punished according to the old rules!"

Han Youying bit her lower lip lightly, her beautiful eyes were full of resentment, and then silently knelt down in front of Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang looked up at the sky and found that the sky was really blue, but he couldn't help but clenched the chair handle tightly with both hands, as if he wanted to freeze time at this moment.

On the edge of Taiye Pond, Liu Jin officially announced the test questions: "There are ten grass carp here! Now you are required to find a good place for the grass carp within one day, but you have to return this grass carp next year, and the grass carp is well-raised. The fatter the better!"

what?
The ten people present couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this test question.

If they were only asked to find a good place for the grass carp, the Taiye Pond next to it would be an excellent place, but the difficulty is to return the real fish next year.

Sure enough, he is the smartest emperor in the world. The question of the palace examination that just passed has already made people slap their hair, and now he is secretly complaining.

Jin Gui thought of the question he was most concerned about, and asked seriously: "My father-in-law, won't our competition last until next year before there is a result?"

When everyone heard this, they also looked at Liu Jin suspiciously.

Say one thousand, say ten thousand, what they desire most now is the number one scholar, no matter how bad the second place and third place are.

"Of course not! We will send people to watch over the ten of you. As long as you report back how to settle the grass carp, His Majesty will give the final result, but you still have to return the fish next year!" Liu Jin didn't know that Zhu Youtang was in the gourd. What kind of medicine to sell, but it must have a deep meaning.

This……

Xu Hong immediately felt mixed feelings. He was happy because they only needed to give a solution, but he was worried about returning the fish next year.

Faintly, they felt that the emperor's assessment might have some deep meaning.

After they left, a woman who wanted to figure out the emperor's will was being punished, and she finally shed tears of happiness amidst sobs.

The past is like smoke, and now the result of the champion is about to be announced.

Xu Hong's thoughts came back from the memory of Xiao Chuanlu, but he looked at Xu Qiong, Minister of Rites who was about to announce the final result.

"Brother Xu, I heard that you and Ms. Qian are going to tie the knot. I haven't formally congratulated you yet!" Gao Kui knelt beside Xu Hong and suddenly winked.

Seeing that Gao Kui was still thinking about his marriage, Xu Hong couldn't help saying strangely: "Now the champion is about to be announced, aren't you nervous?"

Different from the announcement of good news in the general examination, the results of the palace examination are announced starting from the number one scholar, and the lower the ranking as you go later.And if you want to be the most dazzling one today, you need to have your first name as yourself.

"I don't have anything to be nervous about right now. The champion must be selected from among the ten of you. As long as I can stay in the second-class Jinshi, I will be satisfied!" Gao Kui said with a good attitude and seemed disapproving.

Xu Hong turned his head to look seriously at his companion Gao Kui, but shook his head gently: "I will not be the number one scholar, nor will I be a first-class Jinshi, but I will probably be assigned to the Ministry of War!"

"Even if you are not a first-class Jinshi, you must have entered the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi. How could you be assigned to the Ministry of War?" Gao Kui's eyes widened, and he immediately questioned.

The reason why the No. [-] Scholar, No. [-] and Ranked Flower are talked about not only because they got the best grades in the examination, but also because they were able to enter the Imperial Academy with the official positions of Hanlin Zhuanzhuan and Hanlin Editor.

If you can't directly enter the Imperial Academy, the best result is to enter the Imperial Academy first as a concubine, and have the opportunity to officially become an official after one year.

If Xu Hong, who participated in Xiaozhuanlu, was finally assigned to the six departments, and he was still a military department that was not rich in oil and water, he would have fallen behind by a large margin, and it would not be the normal treatment for candidates participating in Xiaochuanlu.

Xu Hong didn't explain, but looked at Xu Qiong, Minister of Rites who was holding the yellow book above: "It's started, let's kowtow!"

"No.1 in Palace Examination - Liu Cunye!"

"No.2 in Palace Examination - Qian Fu!"

"No. 3 in the Palace Examination - Jin Gui!"

……

As soon as Xu Hong's words fell, Xu Qiong, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had already read aloud the first-class and third-ranked scholars.

"Yijia No.1 Liu Cunye, Gongsheng has an audience!"

"Yijia No.2 Qian Fu, Gongsheng sees you!"

"Jin Gui, No.3 in the first class, Gong Sheng sees you!"

……

An old eunuch standing on it shouted loudly like a repeater.

According to the normal process, only the top three Jinshi are eligible to enter the Fengtian Hall to thank you, and the rest of the Xinke Jinshi are still not eligible to enter the hall.

In fact, the vast majority of Xinke Scholars are doomed to never enter the Fengtian Temple in their lifetime. After all, it is something that many people cannot do if they want to reach the step of being a fourth-rank Beijing official.

bingo?

I won?
I am champion?

……

When Liu Cunye heard that he was in high school, he couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Fengtian Temple very excitedly, and his brain went blank at this time.

"Zhuangyuan Lang, please come into the hall with me to thank you!" The official of Honglu Temple stepped forward and reminded him very gently.

Liu Cunye was already dizzy, but he still maintained a respectful attitude, so he followed the officials of Honglu Temple into the hall like a marionette.

In addition to Liu Cunye, Qian Fu and Tanhua Jingui also followed into the palace, and finally met the Lord of the People - Hongzhi.

Even if it is the same thing, different people will have different feelings when they see it, and the emperor actually has the same reason.

In the eyes of ministers, Zhu Youtang is a powerful emperor, in the eyes of eunuchs, he is not a majesty who tolerates infringement, but in the eyes of Liu Cunye, he is an emperor who must be loyal wholeheartedly.

Zhu Youtang looked at the three people who walked into the hall. These three people were all chosen by himself to be placed in the Imperial Academy, and he said very plainly: "Pingshen!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Liu Cunye and the other three saluted politely.

Zhu Youtang only asked a few words according to the procedure, and then raised his hands again and again, and the officials of Honglu Temple led the three people to stand at the end of the official team.

The Ceremony of Biography continued, and Xu Qiong read out the names on the gold book one by one, finalizing the ranking of the new Jinshi, and at the same time announcing the fate of these newcomers in the officialdom.

Due to the tricky questions in the palace examination, some candidates even handed in blank papers directly, resulting in a big discrepancy between the final ranking and the ranking of the general examination.

Xu Hong won the No.2 of the second class, Zhang Sui won the No.6 of the second class, Gao Kui ranked the second class, Hai Kuan and the other three won the third class and Jinshi.

After the publicity of the Golden Book is over, everyone will respectfully send Emperor Hongzhi to retire from the court, and then there will be the Yuma Street Ceremony of Liu Cunye, the most famous scholar.

Xu Hong saw Liu Cunye and the other three who had changed into champion clothes, combined with the three of them choosing to keep the fish in the bathtub, and vaguely felt that they might have good articles and answer papers, but they were too embarrassed to use them.

As for why they are first-class Jinshi, this answer may only be known by the current emperor.

(End of this chapter)