Bachelor

Chapter 374 Palace Exam
The so-called lower class probably refers to the style of scholasticism, and it refers to the integrity and principles of life and work upheld by scholars in the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Sun Dan copied so many poems on the wall in the examination room was also to create an elegant saying and gain fame for himself.

It is conceivable that once this collection is released for sale, what kind of benefits it will bring to itself.

However, everything still has to wait for the end of the palace examination, as long as you can get a first-class, with these poems to cooperate, you will become famous in one fell swoop.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Shangshu, Sun Dan didn't want to wander around, so he simply went home to rest.The damn palace exam is the same as the emperor's early court, it starts at the right time, if you don't go to bed early, tomorrow will be terrible.

There was only one question in the imperial examination, and the exam was only for one day, but there was no time for Sun Dan to sleep in the examination room.

So, after taking a bath and eating at night, Sun Dan went to bed early.

When it was about three o'clock, Zhiniang called Sun Dan up and said that breakfast was ready, and after eating, she could take a carriage to the palace.

Zhi Niang's eyes were red, obviously she hadn't slept all night.

Sun Dan felt distressed, and complained while drinking the porridge: "Mother Zhi, you are also pregnant, why don't you know that your body will die."

Zhi Niang: "Aren't I afraid that you will miss the hour?"

Sun Dan smiled wryly: "This is just an exam. If I pass the palace exam, I will definitely go to work in the Imperial Academy. From now on, I will wake up so early every day. It is not like when I was in Fangshan. I can wake up whenever I want." No one cares when you wake up. Don't you want to sleep every day from now on?"

Zhi Niang was a little surprised: "Then, Dan Lang, you'd better go back to Fangshan after you win the first prize, and don't go to any other yard."

Sun Dan laughed: "Officials can't be controlled by others. The national system is like this. I can't go wherever I want."

He put down the porridge bowl: "Don't eat, Zhi Niang, I'm going now for my husband."

"Why eat so little, what if you get hungry later?" Zhi Niang said hurriedly.

"You can't eat too much before the exam, especially me. If you eat too much, your brain won't work." Sun Dan explained: "Also, eating less can also save money."

Zhi Niang laughed: "Economics are not in this."

Sun Dan laughed loudly and stepped out of the room.

In the courtyard, Ting Lan was already waiting there with a group of servant girls, and seeing Sun Dan came out, she said at the same time: "I wish the Elder Master success soon, and the Toad Palace wins the crown."

Sun Dan was very familiar with the imperial palace, and it took only a moment to turn to the Meridian Gate. In the square, there were already hundreds of candidates waiting there, all with solemn faces, and no one spoke.

It can be seen that everyone is happy and relaxed.

Those who can come here are all elites, and they have passed the test. After becoming a tribute, they can actually be awarded officials and wait for the state to assign work.Among them, even the one with the worst grades can be a magistrate Dangdang.

Of course, those who have strict requirements on themselves, and those who want to go further in their official careers are also full of energy. They want to write good articles in the palace examination to impress Tianxin, so that they can squeeze into the Imperial Academy in the future.These people all looked solemn, with an indescribable excitement in their brows.

Of course, only Zhang Cong looked ashamed, as decadent as a different person.

It seems that Lao Zhang hasn't bathed and changed his clothes yet, and his body is quite dirty.Some parts of the beard and hair are white, and the face is full of wrinkles.

Sun Dan walked over and just called out: "Brother Zhang Nian." He was almost suffocated by the body odor of Zhang Cong.

He held his breath and put on a calm expression: "Brother Zhang, I just happened to meet you, why don't we go in together?"

Zhang Cong shook his head bitterly: "Jingyuan really speaks the truth. Zhang Cong will fail in this exam. I checked the rankings. I am afraid that he will be ranked after the top seventy. The Hanlin Academy is Forget it."

Sun Dan comforted him and said, "Brother Zhang Nian is going to be depressed. No matter what you say now, you are a Jinshi, and a county magistrate can't escape. With your talent, you may not be able to be a governor after more than ten years of experience in the local area. .”

"Magistrate, I'm afraid I can't even be a magistrate." Zhang Cong smiled bitterly. Because he didn't do well in the exam, he blamed Sun Dan for harassing him in the exam room, which affected his performance.But after all, he is a person who has read the books of sages for so many years. He thinks about himself every day. When he thinks about it carefully, the reason why he is influenced by Sun Dan is that he is not cultivated enough, and his mind is not enough.If the heart is magnanimous and there is an aura of grandeur in it, it is natural that the eight winds will not be able to blow it.The blame can only be blamed on oneself, and it is not for a gentleman to blame others.

Zhang Cong has always been at odds with Huang Jin.Originally, as the think tank of Concubine Zhang's family, Zhang Cong's treatment among that group of people was pretty good.But after the ranking was released yesterday, Huang Jin saw that Zhang Cong was ranked low, and immediately made sarcastic remarks, and withdrew the two servants of Zhang Cong who served him, and cut off his supply for this month.

Zhang Cong's family was originally a wealthy family, and there was no shortage of these two servants and a few taels of silver, but Huang Jin's behavior made him feel cold.

Anyway, I was selected, although my grades were not good, but I was still a Jinshi, I was awarded a Jinshi, and I was also a Jinshi.In contrast, Na Pingqiuli was even more famous, and he didn't have any great achievements in his life.It's strange, it's strange, the treatment is the same as before, and I heard that Concubine Zhang has found him a good job, and he will be able to take up the post in a few days.

Treating one more than another, Zhang Cong couldn't catch up immediately, and he was completely torn apart from Concubine Zhang.

But things are a bit troublesome now. From outsiders' point of view, he, Zhang Cong, belongs to Huang Jin. When he is awarded an official in the future, he won't even think about a real job such as magistrate.Korean and Chinese officials have always despised eunuchs. It is conceivable that Zhang Cong will definitely be sent to a Qingshui yamen to stay until he dies.

Thinking of this, Zhang Cong felt very depressed, and didn't have any expectations for this imperial examination, it was just a formality.

In terms of his current state of mind, it is impossible to get good grades in the imperial examination.

After listening to Zhang Cong explaining all this, Sun Dan felt moved: that's fine, as long as you give Zhang Cong a little favor at that time, this guy will naturally join our camp.Generally speaking, Zhang Cong is a person who is eager for fame, and we can start from this aspect at that time.Anyway, to the outside world, he is Huang Jin's person, and if we discuss it together in the future, it will be his Huang Jin's reputation that is so bad... It is indeed a good way!
Of course, now is not the time.

Sun Dan was about to comfort him casually, when at this moment, the side doors on both sides of the Meridian Gate were slowly and heavily pushed open, and several eunuchs ran out and shouted loudly: "All the tributes who participated in the palace examination have entered the arena."

All the candidates cheered up at the same time and began to line up to enter the palace.

The examination room for the palace examination is located in the Palace of Preserving Harmony, which is a little far away from here. Many of the gongshi who took the examination are old, not to mention not working hard, and not distinguishing grains. They walked all the way, and they were out of breath.

It was still a little cold in Beijing in the early morning, and many people had white air rising from their bodies.

Outside the Hall of Preserving Harmony, there were also eunuchs and guards waiting there, and other candidates went to find their seats.

Strange to say, Sun Dan found Bi Yun, an old acquaintance, beside the white marble railing in the main hall.

Because there is an examination system in place, it is not easy for Sun Dan to talk to him, so he nodded his head as a greeting and was about to enter the hall.But Bi Yun said slowly: "Sun Dan." It looked like a routine.

Sun Dan knew that Bi Yun must have something to say, so he was not angry: "The examinee, Sun Dan, is here, and I would like to ask my father-in-law to speak."

As soon as the two of them spoke, the examinees stopped and looked at Sun Dan with admiration.Sun Dan's reputation used to be limited to Shandong, the capital city, but now that he won Huiyuan, he is already famous all over the world.

Bi Yun said softly: "There is a decree. Sun Dan, the magistrate of Fangshan County, must answer the exam questions within an hour, and then wait for the decree in the Baohe Piandian."

"Yes." Sun Dan hurriedly replied, but he felt strange. The emperor asked himself to finish answering the exam questions within an hour, and made a decree. Could it be that something serious happened in the palace?
Hearing the imperial decree issued by Bi Yun, the candidates who were still watching the excitement just now were all taken aback. They thought that Sun Dan was just like them. It is the county magistrate who is actually taught. Is there anything special about this person?

Could it be that he won the first name Huiyuan?

However, the Palace Examination is of great importance. Generally, the examinees will cherish the questions they get, ponder over and over again, and will not write lightly without spending half a day.It's really embarrassing for Sun Dan to hand in the paper in an hour!
From the looks of it, this new division is going to be bad this time.

Sun Dan didn't take it seriously. Speaking of which, the palace examination questions were really easy for him.It's just a policy question, and the length of the question should not exceed two or three hundred words, and at most it should not exceed one thousand.If you want him to write this kind of thing, it can be said that he will come with a raise of his hand and finish writing in a short time.

And Emperor Jiajing also trusted Sun Dan's talent very much, and didn't feel that one hour was not enough.

Sun Dan was thinking about how to hand in the papers ahead of time, for fear of causing displeasure to the examiners, making them feel arrogant and maliciously suppressing his scores.Now, with the emperor's decree, it is naturally the best, and he can justifiably make an early appearance.

Thinking of this, he rejoiced in his heart, and said: "Yes, Sun Danjin obeys the holy order."

After entering the hall, Sun Dan found his seat, and found that the deputy chief examiners of the Jinke Palace Examination had already arrived.Several examiners during the general examination have resigned since the end of the general examination, and now the main examiner of the palace examination is naturally in charge of Tianzi, and the three deputy examiners are the three cabinet ministers Yang Tinghe, Jiang Mian and Mao Ji. These three will do it.In addition, next to the three of them are five high-ranking officials above the third rank, all of whom are well-educated.Together with Yang Shoufu and the other three, these eight people are the examiners of this subject.

The remaining dozen officials of the Ministry of Rites are responsible for other chores.

After a while, the long-lost Emperor Jiajing also came.

Naturally, three cheers for long live.

It was another flurry, and the next procedure was roll call, paper rolls, praise, and salute.

In the end, I started to issue policy topics. After nearly an hour of tossing around, the palace examination finally started.

The questions of the Imperial Palace Examination are a bit difficult for some candidates, and they are quite targeted.

The main point is that the current Ming Dynasty has financial difficulties, and the number of officials is large and corrupt. Candidates are asked to talk about how to rectify the administration of officials and how to increase the revenue of the central government.

Recalling what Zhao Shangshu said when he visited the teacher yesterday, Sun Dan unconsciously nodded: This old Zhao is really shrewd, and he really hit the mark.

If you guessed right, this topic should have been created by Yang Tinghe and the emperor.

What the emperor thought was how to reduce the country's financial expenditure, but Yang Tinghe believed that there were too many civil servants in the Ming Dynasty, and a group of civil servants needed to be dismissed to streamline the organization.

Therefore, the two hit it off, and simply threw out this question to let the candidates play freely.

It's just that the emperor's mind is to reform, but he doesn't want to smash the jobs of civil servants and shake his own rule.But what Lao Yang was thinking about was how to reduce the number of people eating official meals, and even fewer, the emperor's thoughts, he knew best.Since the emperor, you don't want to be a villain, why don't you let the examinees break the window paper.

It's a pity that Sun Dan has figured out the emperor's thoughts thoroughly, how can he write according to Yang Shoufu's intention, and make it difficult for himself?
However, if it is not written according to Yang Tinghe's intention, I am afraid that the score will not be too high.

This is embarrassing.

Sun Dan hesitated in his heart, unable to write for a moment.

Like Sun Dan, none of the other examinees in the hall started to write. They didn't know the strength of this question, so they all held their pens and began to think hard about the manuscript.

If the guess is correct, the answers of these people should have many tricks.

For example, to rectify the administration of officials, some people will say that the way to rectify the administration of officials is to strengthen punishments, following the old path of Taizu; some people think that education has been strengthened;

As for how to increase the central fiscal revenue, there are many answers.For example, increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but it is difficult to say how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure; for example, increase taxes; some people will answer that open up new types of taxes.

Such an answer certainly made sense, but it was far from what the emperor or Yang Tinghe wanted to hear.

Sun Dan was determined to get a high score and win a top prize for the world to see. Naturally, he couldn't follow the same advice as other candidates.

You should write it according to the emperor's wishes. If you talk about tax reform on the paper, it will be difficult for Yang Shoufu to pass the test.Mr. Yang Ge is very radical. He just wants to cut off half of the officials in the world first, but he doesn't pay much attention to tax reform. He thinks it is difficult to promote it, and it is too late to take effect. It is meaningless.In fact, Zhang Juzheng's subsequent reforms were considered formal after more than ten years of implementation, during which many unconventional means were adopted.Lao Yang is an outstanding politician, it is impossible not to see this, and he has little interest in the new tax reform.

But if you write it according to Yang Tinghe's intention, you will offend the emperor again.

This thing is really difficult.

It was still early, it was still dark, and the hall was brightly lit with candles in hand.

At the beginning, the emperor was still sitting on the Sumeru Seat, smiling and looking at all the tributes in the hall, with a look of excitement on his face.After all, this is the first national ceremony hosted by the young emperor, and there is a sense of freshness everywhere.

Moreover, these candidates here will all be his emperor's disciples in the future, and they will be the first batch of talents selected by him since his reign.

He has a pleasure of mastering the future and destiny of others.

Indeed, as Bi Yun said earlier, he had something important to ask Sun Dan, so he asked after all to deliver the decree for Sun Dan to hand in the paper within an hour.

It can be seen that now Sun Dan looks like he is thinking hard, and has not written for a long time, but the emperor is a little anxious.

Regardless of other things, he stood up from his chair, walked to Sun Dan's case with a candle in his hand, and put the candle on his table.

Sun Dan didn't expect the emperor to come over to hold the lamp for him in person, he was a little surprised, and knew that the emperor was urging him.But he was a little annoyed in his heart: why panic, why panic, no matter how panic you are, you have to wait for me to finish answering the questions.This palace test is related to whether Sun Dan can enter the top three in the first class, which is my future.You, the emperor, are in such a hurry, you probably have something important to do, but you can't be so selfish.

The emperor asked Sun Dan gently and softly, "But I can't see clearly. Come, come, I will personally hold the candle for you."

However, the emperor's action still shocked all the examinees. Everyone turned their eyes to the emperor, and then lowered their heads in panic at the same time, their eyes suddenly became moist, and they were moved by the emperor's emphasis on talents and imperial examinations.

Someone's tears were already falling onto the paper one after another, and their shoulders couldn't help shrugging.

Affected by this aura, Sun Dan also had to pretend to be moved, lifted a mouthful of phlegm from his throat, poured it into his throat, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty."

Seeing Sun Dan's grateful expression, the emperor was also amused: this Sun Dan was the chief think tank when he seized the heirloom, he was originally a celebrity, and he looked like he took the world as his own responsibility, which was the most arrogant.He only has calculations in his heart, only pondering, if he wants to be moved, is that what a counselor should have?But this guy still pretends to be like this, it's really speechless.

The emperor snorted with a sound that only two people could hear, and stayed by Sun Dan's side without leaving.

Obviously, what happened to him is very important, otherwise it would be impossible for Sun Dan to answer the question quickly.

Sun Dan had no choice but to bring up his pen.I thought to myself, Yang Ge wants to reduce staff and increase efficiency, and the emperor wants to reform immediately so that he can earn a lot of money in a short time.No matter how I, Sun Dan, answered, they couldn't agree with them.Simply write something else, I don't want you to play.

Isn't the topic you asked to rectify the administration of officials, so I will give you a way of thinking.

So, Sun Dan immediately started writing.

The emperor only read a few sentences, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he clenched his fists unconsciously.

The general idea of ​​Sun Dan's article is: To rectify the administration of officials, it is necessary to increase the income of officials and maintain integrity with high salaries.The salaries of the officials of the Ming Dynasty seem to have not increased since the Taizu, but the expenditure of the officials has been increasing day by day.As a result, the imperial court could only acquiesce to officials trying to find other ways to raise money, which created a soil of corruption.As long as the state gives officials money to support honesty, officials will naturally become honest.

Of course, the country doesn't have that much money to support honesty, so we have to find another way.

My solution is: implement a currency tax system, all taxes are settled in silver, and the fire consumption of silver is owned by officials for daily expenses.

(End of this chapter)