Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 44

In the Southern Dynasties, the Spring Festival was held every three years in March, and this year happened to be the year when the imperial examinations were held, so Liu Qingtang was very busy throughout March.

If you want to manage the country well and make the Southern Dynasty stronger and stronger, you must make good use of more talented people.Liu Qingtang understands this, so she has always attached great importance to Chunwei, and has to do many things by herself.

Although she has resentment towards the emperor, she has always known how to handle state affairs, and would not use this kind of matter to compete with the emperor and the two chief assistants. After all, the Southern Dynasty was also the place where she was born. Since she has the ability, she will There is a duty to do something for the whole country.

And on the last day of March, when the Minister of Rites submitted the list of 25 students who participated in the palace examination to her case, Liu Qingtang saw her brother's name on it.

Father and Sushu Wei Zheng, they all joined together to hide it from her, maybe they want to give her a surprise?Liu Qingtang stretched out her hand and scratched across the three words 'Liu Qingrong' in the booklet, with a warm smile in her eyes.Her brother still came, even though she said that she had grown up and didn't need her brother to take the blame for her, he still entered the vat without hesitation after hearing what his father said.

In fact, even though what she said at the beginning was so high-sounding, she knew in her heart that her brother would not ignore it.It's just that she didn't expect her brother to choose the career of civil servant in the end.Although my brother looks like a gentle scholar, he grew up under the strict teaching of his father, and he is definitely not weak on the outside.Liu Qingtang dared to say that if her elder brother had participated in the martial arts test, he would definitely be able to win the title of martial arts champion.

Liu Qingtang still clearly remembered that when she was a child in the martial arts training ground, she watched her brother go from being chased and beaten by one guard to dealing with dozens or twenty guards by himself with ease.Needless to say, the hard work involved, only then did Liu Qingtang suddenly realize that the elder brother who was always bullied by him was actually very good.

In mid-April, the palace examination began.

The palace examination was in the Ronghe Hall, and Liu Qingtang sat solemnly at the head, watching her brother walk into the hall with the others, and suddenly felt a sense of pride and anticipation in her heart.

In the palace examination, the topic of "cultivating the body, governing the family, governing the country, and the world" is to make a policy discussion on the spot, and tell your own opinions in the palace. At the end, all the civil servants will ask questions, and the scholars who are asked must use their own ideas to argue with the examiner. answer.

In the whole palace examination, Liu Qingrong was the most dazzling one. He was different from the somewhat restrained and uneasy appearance of the others. He went from being calm and composed when he wrote his policy theory, calm and composed when he talked about his views, to being gentle and calm when he was asked by the examiner. Without losing his strength, his well-founded rebuttal made people speechless, and he had an unparalleled self-confidence from the beginning to the end.

Undoubtedly, the title of new top scholar fell to Liu Qingrong.Liu Qingtang was not surprised by such a decision, whether it was because of her brother's own talent or because of his status - the son of the Duke of Zhen, the brother of the Queen Mother, the emperor's uncle, he would definitely be the champion.

The second place is an older man. Although there is nothing new in the policy theory, it can be seen that this is a scholar who is mainly conservative. He is thoughtful, detailed and safe in all aspects.Liu Qingtang actually didn't like this very much, but most officials needed such a person to do it.

Tanhua is a young man who is about the same age as Liu Qingrong. Apart from Liu Qingrong, he is probably the most admired by Liu Qingtang among the 25 palace examiners.In terms of strategy, he has his own unique views on many things, which is very similar to his brother, but unfortunately he has too little tempering, loves to take a slanted edge, and in some places he is not as sophisticated and mature as the previous brother and the second place.

In his previous life, he didn't get Tanhua, but was the last top three. This was decided by Wang Shoufu.It's just that this time Liu Qingtang didn't give Wang Shoufu any face, and just said, "This son deserves to be top-ranked."In this way, those officials will naturally figure out what she means and give her the position of Tanhua.Liu Qingtang knew that if this person could teach him well, it would be a help - it's a pity that in his previous life, when this Tanhualang emerged on his own, he was drawn over by the two chief assistants. Of course, this time, it won't be the case.

With her, a queen mother who is willing to appreciate and reuse him, Wang Shoufu may not be able to use his trick of demoting first and then promoting him to sharpen his edges and corners to subdue this arrogant Tanhualang.

Three first-class scholars were selected, the remaining 22 scholars, ten second-class scholars, and twelve third-class scholars.The ranking of the palace examination will be announced on the spot, and the scriptures will be written and submitted by the Minister of Rites.Liu Qingtang stamped her own seal on it, and then handed it to the little emperor at the side.

After being reborn, Liu Qingtang became more and more alienated from the emperor's nephew, except to talk to him when he came to pay his respects, and to have dinner with him when he had time on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar new year, and never had any contact with him again.There is no such thing as calling someone to ask him if he has eaten and slept well after dealing with the affairs in hand every day. He will think that he does not have his own direct line in his hands, let alone find someone to train him for him.

After she said those things, her father would no longer take the initiative to talk to the emperor about various ways of being a king and employing people, and he no longer raised him as his own nephew. He kept silent without asking about many things. The generals headed by him were quite silent.

The emperor himself probably felt their estrangement, and became more respectful and close to Liu Qingtang.It's just that Liu Qingtang is no longer the Liu Qingtang who would treat the emperor as his son, so why can't she tell if it's true or not.He just thought that he was not capable at the moment and had to be attached to the Liu family, so he kept his head low.If one day he holds this power in his hands, he will be able to beat their Liu family to the point where they cannot stand up.

In the previous life, in order to quickly take over their Liu family and the soldiers below, the emperor replaced most of the generals who had a relationship with his father and his natal uncle.In order to make an example, he also killed a group of Liu family's personal guards who had defended the territory with his father, a total of 200 people, and Liu Qingtang knew almost everyone in it, they were elders who had watched her and her brother grow up.The emperor at that time really did a bloody trick.

"Mother, the champion is indeed Uncle Qingrong. It seems that I will have to get close to Uncle and learn from him in the future. Our Liu family can't be incompetent."

Liu Qingtang was just thinking about those personal guards who were supposed to retire in Liu's mansion but were implicated innocently. Seeing the emperor saying so happily and proudly, she couldn't help but feel angry.Liu Jiaerlang?He is not some Liu family son, but the most qualified royal Xiao family.

Xiao Huaixu saw that the Queen Mother didn't answer, so he couldn't help but put away his smile and said innocently: "But what did Huaixu say wrong?"

Liu Qingtang didn't look at him, suppressed the hatred in his heart, and replied lightly: "Brother just read a few more idle books, there is nothing to learn, the emperor should learn more from the two chief assistants."

The emperor paused and laughed again: "Although the two chief assistants are talented and virtuous, they are not as close as my grandfather and uncle's family. My mother also told me to be close to my family before my death."

Liu Qingtang was impatient with his temptation, but had to deal with him, and said again: "The two chief assistants are just like our Liu family. They are all to assist the emperor. There is no distinction between closeness and estrangement. The emperor does not need to do this on purpose. Now that we are all your relatives, how can relatives care about this."

"The queen mother said yes, Huai Xu knows about it." The emperor smiled and stamped on that copy.

The second- and third-tier scholars were sent out of the palace first, leaving only the three first-ranked scholars in the palace, Liu Qingtang and the emperor encouraged each other, and after finishing speaking, Wei Zheng came to the palace to report the martial arts test it's over.

The martial arts test and the literary test are generally divided into top three, and there are three people in the top one, and they are divided into the number one and the second place.The first three were summoned to the palace, and Liu Qingtang had some impressions of the latter two. They should be the sons of his father's general family. Later, all the sons inherited his father's career and continued to work under his father. They belonged to the Liu family.But Liu Qingtang had never seen the black-clothed boy walking in the front in her previous life, so she couldn't help but look a few more times curiously.

The boy looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, about the same age as Qin Shu.On the outside, he looks like a handsome young man, even a bit feminine, but his eyes are firm and strong, his figure is tall and straight, and he looks very stable and reliable.Liu Qingtang beheaded him for a while, feeling a little familiar, but she just didn't know when she had seen him.It wasn't until Liu Qingtang unconsciously glanced at her father that she suddenly realized that the boy's temperament was somewhat similar to that of his father, especially when his father was also dressed in black at this time.

If it wasn't for the slight similarity in the faces of the two, and the father's deep affection for his mother, Liu Qingtang would have really suspected that this boy was his father's illegitimate child outside.

Liu Qingrong, who was waiting by the side, also looked at the young man with admiration, and then at his father, feeling that his status as the only son of the Liu family might not be guaranteed.

The father of the Liu family was stared at by the daughter above and the son below. After staring at his son unbearably disturbed, he also looked at the boy in black, and after only a few glances, he showed admiration.Then Liu Qingtang saw the boy in black who had the charm of his father, and his face was paralyzed since he entered the hall. His eyes showed a little excitement at his father's admiration. He looked like he was praised by an idol. His back seemed to be straight straighter.

Just now, he was still thinking about how to win over this black-clothed boy whom he had never seen in his previous life, and he was instantly relieved when he saw this scene.In fact, there were many people who worshiped his father in the Southern Dynasty, and almost half of those who participated in the martial arts test came here because of his reputation, so it is not surprising that this young man worshiped his father and even deliberately imitated his father.

It seems that my father is going to have another capable person. My father has always cherished his talents and will be happy to meet someone worthy of training.The corners of Liu Qingtang's mouth twitched slightly, and she became even happier after seeing the frowning of the two chief assistants.

Two-quarters of the soldiers and horses in the Southern Dynasties belonged to the Liu family, and Wei Zheng and others belonged to the Liu family camp.And a quarter of them were in the Su family—the Su family where Liu Qingtang's mother lived, which was also her natal family. However, most of the Su family's troops were stationed in the border areas, and it was rare for her to come back once.Another quarter is divided into many forces scattered.

The biggest reason why the two Chief Assistants have been patient with her now is that she has the Liu family and the Su family behind her.They have also always wanted to intervene in military power, and they are paying more and more attention to military tests.It's a pity that all the talented and knowledgeable martial arts scholars have been from the Liu family, so they couldn't get in at all.

Now it's hard to see someone who is not from the Liu family's camp, but actually came here to admire the name of the Liu family, the two chief assistants really feel very uncomfortable.

(End of this chapter)