Lord of Earth Fiend

"Brother Chen, this year's examination system may be changed."

Cui Qizhao invited Chen Jin to be his guest again. The two of them drank tea in the pavilion, which was quite leisurely.

Chen Jin asked: "How to change the law?"

"There is news that the palace examination will be cancelled. After the examination, the ranking on the gold list will be determined directly, and then they will be released as officials. Even if the first-class Jinshi passes, they will not be able to enter the Hanlin Academy."

Chen Jin was startled: If it were to be changed like this, it would definitely be a huge change.

However, since the new emperor ascended the throne, various system changes have been taking place, the most typical one being the content of the examination.

As for the pros and cons of the changes, it’s hard to say at the moment.

In the imperial examination, as long as you pass the examination, you will not fail. The function of the imperial examination is mainly to show the emperor to see and then determine the first place.

In this way, it is quite subjective and depends on whether it can catch the emperor's eyes. At this point, the ranking can be called "metaphysics".

Some people were chosen as top picks because their looks met the aesthetic standards; some were chosen as top picks because their names were amazing...

vice versa.

For example, what happened to Kuixing was that he was pushed to the back because of his ugly appearance and was born in the same Jinshi class, so there is an allusion to kicking through a book fight and hitting a pillar to death.

In Chen Jin's view, the imperial examination is equivalent to an interview, and indeed has many metaphysical details.

Now the new emperor actually wants to cancel this link. The reason behind it is intriguing.

Cui Qizhao asked: "Brother Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Jin replied seriously: "Before there is no title on the gold list, I have no opinion."

Cui Qizhao chuckled and said, "He is quite pragmatic."

Chen Jin asked back: "What about you, Brother Cui? You should be dissatisfied."

"Oh, why do you say I'm dissatisfied?"

"With Brother Cui's appearance, if he gets into the Jinluan Palace, he will definitely be very popular and get extra points."

Cui Qizhao: "...I thought Brother Chen had a poetry and calligraphy spirit, but I didn't expect that he would judge people by their appearance."

Chen Jin smiled and said: "The sage said: Food and sex are the nature of food, and I am just a layman."

Cui Qizhao looked at him deeply: "No wonder Brother Chen went to Zhongzhou first and took the exam after getting married."

"The four great pleasures in life are the night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber, and the time when the gold medal is named. The bridal chamber is ranked before the gold medal. It is quite reasonable for me to do this."

Cui Qizhao was amused and laughed: "At Brother Chen's age, it is indeed time to get married."

Chen Jin said: "No, I got married only when I met the right person."

"Right person?"

Cui Qizhao suddenly looked a little lonely, as if he had some unforgettable past and stories.

Chen Jin brought the topic back: "I would actually be a little regretful if the palace examination was cancelled. After all, I want to meet the Holy Emperor."

Cui Qizhao said calmly: "Then have you ever thought that even if there is a palace examination, the Holy Emperor may not show up? He rarely goes to court and ignores government affairs."

Chen Jin's heart trembled, and he felt that he couldn't talk about this topic any longer, lest he give people any clues: "Then according to your point of view, those named on the gold list can be released as officials. Does that mean that all local positions are vacant? There is an urgent need for new positions. Taking office?"

"Isn't that right? There are prison cars on Shou'an Street, one after another, everyone is watching."

Cui Qizhao seemed to be quite critical of this.

Chen Jin was silent. As the saying goes, once the emperor has one court, the new emperor will not be in the right position. After taking control of the world, there will definitely be a general purge.

It's just that the cleaning intensity is stronger and the time is longer.

It has been three or four years, but it has not subsided. Instead, it has become more and more intense, making the situation unstable.

Is it possible that he really has to stir up chaos in the world before he gives up?

Although he has been a man for two generations, Chen Jin still cannot see the direction of this situation.

I just feel that there is a lot of fog, all kinds of irrationality, and weirdness.

But then again, this is an extraordinary world with ghosts and gods.

Cui Qizhao looked at him: "This news is just a rumor, and the truth cannot be determined. After all, the Holy Spirit is used to changing orders every day and is unpredictable, so Brother Chen doesn't need to think too much."

"Thank you Brother Cui for reminding me."

Chen Jin bowed his hands as a gift, and the other party and himself seemed to have a somewhat deep exchange of words.Although I don’t know what the hidden meaning is, I did get useful information when I put it into practice.

After drinking tea, he returned to his residence. Gu Leyou, who was wandering around outside, also came back: "Scholar, something big happened in the city last night. A group of factory workers were attacked and killed. They died in a terrible way. The scene I left a wooden sign with the nursery rhyme 'When the Swallow Returns, the World Is Together' written on it. Early this morning, people were being searched for people everywhere in the city, and there was a lot of noise."

Chen Jin asked: "Where did you find out?"

"There are teahouses and wine shops. People are talking about it in many places."

"Oh, they sent people to spread the word on purpose. Otherwise, you wouldn't know that such a thing happened."

Guiding public opinion is never simple, especially in this media-blocked era.

Gu Leyou was no fool: "So, the people from Tongwenhui really sneaked into the capital and prepared to start an uprising?"

"I'm still saying that it's not easy to start an incident. Now it seems that the most they can do is create panic and cause some trouble. Or maybe they just go to the inner factory."

"It looks like, huh, these internal minions are running rampant and doing evil. They have harmed countless people, and they deserve it."

"Taoist priest, in extraordinary times, it's better for you to go out less often. If you're not careful, the inner factory will catch you and arrest you, which will cause trouble."

Gu Leyou sighed: "Well, I kind of regret coming to Beijing. I thought the capital would be prosperous and a place of heroes, but now I see, everything is tied up and it's difficult to go out and buy groceries."

Chen Jin immediately told the gossip about Cui Qizhao.

Gu Leyou said happily: "If this is the case, wouldn't you be able to become an official soon? Well, then we will go to the state capital to serve as an official and benefit the other side. We have the final say. That will be great."

Chen Jin: "..."

He said calmly: "Things are not as simple as you think. First of all, I have to pass the Jinshi exam."

Gu Leyou said: "Scholar, with your talent and learning, this is not an easy task? You are the leader in Jiangzhou."

Regarding the exam, it was difficult for Chen Jin to explain the difficulty to Gu Leyou. If he talked too much, he would "destroy his prestige", so he had to say: "Even if you pass the exam, if you are a new scholar, you will usually be a seventh-grade scholar." County magistrate."

"The seventh-grade county magistrate is also a very big official. If he is a county magistrate in the south of the Yangtze River in the Central Plains, he is not much worse than the magistrate in the wilderness of Lingnan."

"You have a good reputation, but the location of the good place has been occupied for a long time, and it is not the turn of a new person to take over."

Gu Leyou said with a smile: "That's not necessarily true. Didn't you say that there is a shortage of local officials? This is an opportunity. Besides, there is someone above you!"

Chen Jin understood what he meant. There was someone above, referring to Su Xiaocheng.

After Su Erbo returned to the capital, he was quickly put into important positions and served as the Minister of Rites, becoming a first-grade minister.

Although the personnel department is in charge of personnel affairs, if Su Xiaocheng comes forward to help, he can get a good job for Chen Jin.

Su Xiaocheng could not conceal his appreciation for this very satisfied son-in-law of the Su family, and naturally he would not stand idly by.

Of course, it's too early to say this now, and everything will have to wait until the exam is passed.Although one can become an official by being elected, the status is always inferior. If one fails to pass the exam, even if Su Xiaocheng helps, it will be hard to talk.

Regarding this examination, Chen Jin was determined to win, not for the sake of fame and official status, but for the sake of the Confucian Temple in the inner landscape.

The last time Kuixing Wenhuo was generated, the Confucian Temple underwent major changes, but the existence of "Lide Chapter" was still not felt.

The first two chapters of "Sanli Jing" are actually used to lay the foundation for the final "Li De Chapter".

If the "Leading Merits" and "Establishing Statements" are two legs, the "Leading Virtue" is the most important head.

This is the core of this method.

After the Confucian Temple was repaired and given a new look, Chen Jin began to look for the secret of "Lide Pian", but found nothing.

This method is invisible and needs conditions to be stimulated before it can appear.

Chen Jin began to think deeply to see what the prerequisites were.

There is no doubt that the key focus of "Lide Pian" lies in the word "virtue" in the middle.

"Virtue" has multiple meanings, which can be understood as "character", "virtue", "merits", etc.According to the scope of practice, it should be regarded as "merit".

The so-called "merit and virtue are immeasurable".

If you want merit, you have to do things and do practical things.

At this point, it is the same as "cultivating one's moral character, harmonizing one's family and bringing peace to the world", which is the ideal path that Confucian scholars must take.

Chen Jin can be a knight-errant, traveling around the world with his sword, hoeing the strong and supporting the weak when the road is rough.

But then, alone, you can only do so much.

Therefore, Chen Jin wanted to take another route and see how it works.

The date for the general examination has been set in advance, so it should not be changed randomly. Calculating, there is still a period of time that can be used to review the lessons.

Neichang Fanzi went on a large-scale search for Tongwenhui rebels, and a team also came here to find out, but Cui Qizhao came forward and sent them away.

It can be seen from this that Mr. Cui has a lot of face.

It's just a coincidence that Chen Jin can settle down and study with peace of mind.Occasionally I was invited to Cui Qizhao's place to drink tea and discuss classics and meanings, which was also a kind of learning.

The two even played a game of shooting, not guessing, but guessing questions.

Throughout the ages, guessing questions has been a repertoire of students during major exams. Once you guess correctly, you will benefit endlessly.

Every time I have more contact with Cui Qizhao, I feel more and more that this young master is knowledgeable and talented, and the views he expresses are extraordinary.

In him, Chen Jin truly recognized the demeanor of a disciple of a famous family.

In the past, the two brothers Wang Yujun were also talented, but one was too artificial and the other was too hypocritical, which made people dislike them when they came into contact with them.

On the other hand, Cui Qizhao is humble, courteous, and generous, and he also has a unique nobility. I don't know how he developed it.

Cui family of Shangzhou...

some meaning.

……

"Big Beard, have you noticed that there is something wrong with the scholar always running over there?"

In the other courtyard, Gu Leyou appealed to Ma Sheng.

He used to be called "Boss Ma", which was very respectful, but later he was scolded by Ma Shengshen, so he followed Chen Jin and called him "Big Bearded".

It's also quite friendly and smooth.

Ma Shengshen was cutting grass, cutting it very carefully.He held a long-handled scythe in his hand, the blade shining and looking sharp.

But after all, it is just a sickle for cutting grass.

Speaking of knives, Gu Leyou spent a lot of time a while ago and bought several knives, but Ma Shengshen didn't like them after picking them over. In the end, he just picked up the sickle and said that this was the one he wanted to use.

Gu Leyou was speechless about this.

Who is Ma Shengshen? Although his reputation is only visible in the wilderness of Lingnan, it is because he has never gone out.With his strength and ability, it is easy to become famous in the world.

What a sharp sword!

Ghost horse flying knife!

The end is unpredictable.

Such a person now actually talks about using a grass-cutting sickle as a weapon. What does this mean?
Gu Leyou even suspected that Ma Shengshen had already begun to retreat, wanted to wash his hands in a golden basin, and was unwilling to use force again.

After careful treatment and the use of good medicine, Ma Shengshen's injury has improved to some extent, but he has never practiced sword practice again.

The only time I use a knife every day is to cut fodder for horses.Those two healthy horses were kept fat and strong by him, and they were very energetic.

So, is he really willing to be a groom?
Gu Leyou also acted as one, but he mainly did it to conceal his identity and pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger, which is completely different from the current Ma Shengshen.

Gu Leyou felt that Ma Shengshen could not be allowed to continue to be so decadent, and he wanted to find opportunities to do ideological work to cheer him up again.

When doing ideological work, you must first find a topic. Otherwise, with Ma Shengshen's temperament, he will not be able to say more than two sentences and the rest of the article will be lost.

Looking for a topic on Chen Jin is a good starting point.

After all, it was because of Chen Jin's relationship that Ma Shengshen became a horseman and coachman.

Sure enough, when it came to Chen Jin's visit to Cui Qizhao, Ma Shengshen answered: "What's wrong with scholars talking about classics and meanings?"

Gu Leyou said: "According to my observation, the way Mr. Cui looked at the scholar was wrong. He probably wanted to win him over and attract his subordinates."

"It's normal for someone to come from a famous family and cherish their talents."

"You don't know that when he was in Jiangzhou, Mr. Wang also came to recruit scholars, but he didn't show any pretense and ignored him at all. But what about now? As soon as Mr. Cui invited him, he came over immediately, talking and laughing. .”

Ma Shengshen said calmly: "He and Mr. Cui are in love and get along well."

Gu Leyou smacked his lips: "I'm a little worried that he is fascinated by the other party."

Ma Shengshen couldn't help but yelled: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Gu Leyou opened his eyes wide: "This is not nonsense. Look how handsome Mr. Cui is. He is more beautiful than many women. And I heard that some high-ranking families like to play this kind of trick. It's definitely The habit of sleeves is considered fashionable."

"Bullshit."

Ma Shengshen was too lazy to talk to him anymore. He felt that if he continued to talk, he would be beaten.

Seeing that his emotions were aroused, Gu Leyou was secretly happy and felt that something was going on.

How to stir up a pool of stagnant water?
Naturally, throw rocks into the water.

No matter what, let’s make the water splash first.

Then he said: "Big Beard, what I said are all true examples. Not only people, but also monsters like this. When we were in Zhongzhou, the scholar and I went to slay monsters and encountered a spider monster. There is a pig dragon monster..."

When he heard such enchanting things, Ma Shengshen was immediately attracted and listened attentively. (End of chapter)