Xiangye

Chapter 157

After Li Zhen and Li Changqi, the great masters of the current Shaanxi Provincial Examination, came to Ma Kua Street, they were led by the chief political envoy Gao Linghan to station in Shaanxi Gongyuan.

The so-called Gongyuan is the best academic and political institution in a province.The place is quite large, it is a majestic building complex, there are Confucian Temple, Gongyuan, Tixue Yamen, and it will also be the examination room for the future township examination.

It is strange to say that there is not a single tree in the huge Gongyuan.The reason is also quite strange. I was afraid that during the exam, someone would enter the candidates from the outside, hide in the shade of a tree, and pass the questions to the candidates.After all, the place is too big, and there are too many candidates, so I can't handle it; second, the rural examinations are held in midsummer, if there is a thunderstorm, tall trees will attract lightning, and the scholar will be chopped down. If it causes a fire, the problem will be serious.

In addition to the provincial tribute courts, the same is true in the imperial palace.Because there are no tall trees, it gets very hot inside in summer.During the Zhengde reign of the later generation, Emperor Zhengde was so hot that he simply lived in Xiyuan, a royal garden with mountains, water and forests, for a long time.That is, from that time on, Xiyuan became the political core of the Ming Empire.

Without the shade of trees, the entire Gongyuan is a stove.

After entering the Xingyuan of the Gong Yuan and sitting down in the Supreme Court Hall, Li Zhen was so hot that he was about to faint, his face was extremely pale, but no beads of sweat could be seen.

The deputy chief examiner, Shu Richang, saw that his situation was not right, and hurriedly ordered his attendants to replace Li Jijiu's auspicious clothes, and put on a Gema thin shirt and a straw hat, and asked with concern, "Mr. Chang Qi, are you okay?"

Li Zhen gritted his teeth tightly, unable to speak, and could only shake his head.

"Hurry up, hurry up, bring a bowl of iced ebony soup." Shu Richang hurriedly ordered.

"No need, no need..." Chief Examiner Li groaned, struggled to pick up the freshly brewed green tea, and took several hot sips without caring about burning his mouth.

After taking a sip of hot soup, Li Zhen saw sweat on his forehead and blushed, and then he let out a long sigh of relief: "It doesn't matter."

Shu Richang suddenly realized: "Hey, I am also confused. Changqi is old and has suffered from heatstroke. If a bowl of iced ebony soup is served, it will be a battle between dragons and tigers. Even Da Luo Jinxian can't stand it." If there is something wrong, I really have no way to explain it to the imperial court and the Shaanxi students."

Li Zhen: "Those who don't know are not guilty, and you don't have to blame yourself. It's too hot this day, but I can't bear it."

Shu Richang also sighed: "The capital city is already very hot. Unexpectedly, the sun in Xi'an city is more poisonous than that in the north."

Different from the two chief examiners, Gao Linghan, the governor of Shaanxi Province, is in the prime of life. Although the auspicious clothes on his body have been soaked with sweat, and some places have a layer of salt flowers, he still sits upright and looks very energetic.

Seeing the two sighing, he smiled and said, "The two great masters shouted hot, and I am also a foreigner. I have worked in Shaanxi for many years, and it is not even more uncomfortable. This is already your territory. In such a hot day, you are afraid that dragons and tigers will fight. It’s all hot soup, but I’m not afraid. Please enjoy a bowl of ice water.”

Shu Richang laughed: "Speaking of which, although this Gongyuan is now the place where Li Jijiu is held, it is also under the management of the Shaanxi Chief Envoy. When you arrived, you asked us for ice. You are the master and we are the guests, but it is against you. Here we come. We have been busy for a long time, and Duke Changqi and I are already hungry. Since you, the landlord, are here, I would like to sing about the falling of the lotus.”

Gao Linghan also laughed loudly: "It's easy, it's easy to say, I'll ask someone to prepare the banquet. The masters are all university scholars, and I also graduated from the imperial examination. I want to ask you to teach moral articles!"

Before Shu Richang could speak, Li Zhen said, "What are you going to eat? I'm already tired. It's important to sleep first."

Seeing that his face was exhausted, and the wrinkles were full of glistening sweat, Gao Linghan said: "Yes, yes, the masters will go to the Kui Su Tang to rest for half an hour, and it will not be too late to eat after gaining strength. I will read a few pages here, etc. you."

Kui Sutang is the place where the chief examiner of the provincial examination stays, and it is located at the end of the north of the Gongyuan Examination.

Li Zhen had already failed in class, so he and Shu Richang staggered away under the entourage.

Seeing his hunched back, Gao Linghan couldn't help but shook his head: This old man is as straight as a candle in the wind, and the court is really, what's wrong with sending such an old man over.Li Changqi is also true, when he is old, his heart is eager for profit.It's just that I want to get some apprentice money and collect some disciples.However, not to mention an old man in his seventies and eighties, even a man in his prime can't bear the toss and toss of thousands of miles!

The two masters took the exam in Kui Sutang, but they didn't care about decency, took off their sweat-soaked clothes, and fell naked on the mat.

As soon as the belly touched the mat, the coolness came through, and the sweat stopped immediately.

Can't help shouting "Good use!" at the same time

Although both of them were exhausted, they lay down on the mat for a long time, but they couldn't fall asleep, and they started talking.

After chatting for a few words about what he saw and thought along the way, Li Zhen suddenly sighed: "Ri Chang, this man, he can't accept his old age. These days, the boat is exhausted, and I really want to shake my old bones away." That's it. After finishing this trial, it's time for the old man to beg for bones and go back to the countryside."

Shu Richang was startled: "I admire the spirit of Changqi Gong Longma. You are a veteran of the Five Dynasties, and the new king is on the throne, and there is still a place to rely on you. How can you go into seclusion lightly?"

Li Jijiu smiled: "Reliance, what are you relying on? I'm just an old man. Don't you know what the Imperial Academy is? It's an idle job. I'm so old, I should retire to make way for others. Don't go ahead. People spread soil to confuse the eyes of future generations, and block the way for others to make progress, so it is not good to make fun of it.”

Shu Richang: "I have heard about offering wine... this... but..." I didn't know how to answer.

Lying on the mat, Li Zhen didn't look at Shu's daily life, and just said lightly: "I know that there are many people in the Imperial Academy who want to take the position of the old man. Don't misunderstand me when the day is long. But I know, when I return to Beijing After that, you will be sent out to work."

Shu Richang: "I've heard about it. Although it's groundless, it may not be without reason. But I'm not good at talking about things that are uncertain."

That's right, although the editors and editors of the Imperial Academy have great prospects, their grades are low.Compiled from the sixth grade, revised from the seventh grade, but Guozijian Jijiu is the fourth grade.

Now that Li Zhen is old, he can't work for a few years.People from the Hanlin Academy are only there for a while, and sooner or later they will be released to serve as officials, and it is impossible to stay there for a lifetime.Therefore, everyone fixed their eyes on the position of Guozijian's sacrificial wine.

As long as Li Zhen retreats, he can fight for it, and he will go from the seventh rank to the fourth rank in one fell swoop. That is the real good wind, relying on his strength, to send me to Qingyun.If it is in the local area, from the seventh rank to the fourth rank, I don't know how many years it will take.

Although Guozijian has no power, it can be used as a step.As long as the grade goes up, if you move to a position in the future, you will be the Minister of the Six Departments immediately, and your future will be bright.

Isn't the people in the Hanlin Academy best at borrowing strength, blocking positions, and grabbing official titles?

Li Zhen smiled: "Ri Chang, you and I have talked about everything along the way, and we have been friends in previous years. To tell you the truth, if the old man is old, if he doesn't go to the inn, it will be annoying. Besides, I'm really tired and want to go home. Fallen leaves return to their roots, don't leave your old bones in Beijing. In fact, I'm not afraid of your jokes. I'm sent to Shaanxi to be an examiner for this big exam. I just want to get some pension money. Tian Wenshe. Haha, Richang, this old man’s thinking made you laugh, ashamed!”

Shu Richang shook his head: "Changqi has to think about it on a public holiday. The imperial court sent examiners to do the test to recruit students. It is justified to get some money to thank the teacher. It can be regarded as the state's sympathy for the veterans. There are well-established examples. Although the ancient sages have There are no distinctions in teaching, but Shuxiu is still needed.”

Yes, coming out to serve as the chief examiner of a province, the income of teacher thanking money is reasonable and legal, it can be regarded as a benefit, so you can extend your hand in a fair and honest manner. Seeing Li Zhen blamed himself, Shu Richang hurriedly comforted him in a low voice.

Li Zhen sighed: "My family was poor in my early years, and my parents died early. I was able to study and become an official because of the support of my clan. I have been an official all my life, and all the salary I got has been given back to the village. When I am old, I still have nothing to do. Hey, I think of my family. Children and grandchildren, I still live a poor life today, and I feel guilty in my heart."

Shu Richang and Li Zhen went all the way from the capital to Shaanxi, so he naturally knew Li Gong's situation.Although Lao Li said that he was expensive to sacrifice wine for the Imperial College, his life was hard, and his clothes were all worn out and patched.

Speaking of which, Mr. Li is a veteran of the Five Dynasties, and also served as the Zuo Buzheng in Guangxi and Henan. It is really sad to be so poor.

The salaries of the officials of the Ming Dynasty are really ridiculously low. If they don't really stick to their integrity, they will really suffer to death.

In this court, there are really few officials with Li Zhen's integrity.

Shu Richang said sincerely: "Mr. Changqi is a true gentleman, a model for our generation."

Li Zhen laughed suddenly: "I really didn't expect that the income of this job test job is so rich, and now I have got a lot of apprenticeship money, so it is considered wet feet." Before Shu Richang could speak, he said again: "Now , I can't be regarded as a role model. Everyday, seeing so much money, the old man is really a little scared."

Shu Richang also laughed.

Yes, I have served as an examiner before, and I have experienced a lot, and I don't think there is anything wrong.But for a gentleman like Li Gong, it was really unexpected.

Indeed, for Li Zhen, this trial of his own turned out to be a good thing to make a fortune.

As soon as he and Shu Richang entered Shaanxi, they took the government, prefecture, and county officials who were selected as inner and outer curtain officials to stay in Huazhou early when they were studying in Shaanxi.

After eating and drinking, it was a trip to Huashan Mountain, reciting poems and composing Fu, and it took three days to set off for Xi'an.At the same time, all the prefectures and counties secretly stuffed the gift list into the sleeves of the two great masters.

As the main examiner, Li Zhen naturally took a big share.When he got to a place where no one was around, he took it out and looked at it, and his face turned red with shock.There is only one number written on these gift lists, indicating the name of the county where the gift was given.The maximum is 400 taels, and the minimum is one hundred.

It turned out that according to the rules, when a great master goes to the local government to do a job test, he will have apprenticeship money.Four hundred at the prefectural and state levels, and one hundred at the county level.Shaanxi has fourteen state capitals and countless counties.

After this trip, Mr. Li didn't do anything, and he got tens of thousands of taels of benefits first, which was worth ten years of salary for himself.

He got so much money all of a sudden, he just felt his heart beating suddenly, and he didn't close his eyes all night, and he still feels a little scared.

Hearing Li Zhen talk about this matter again today, Shu Richang knew that Lao Li was afraid that others would say that he was corrupt and ruin the evening festival.He smiled and comforted him and said, "Mr. Li, don't think about it too much. In the year of the Great Competition, not only the Imperial Academy, but also the court officials and Lang officials of the Manchu Dynasty all tried their best to get poor grades. They didn't want to get this great gift of apprenticeship. Beijing officials are expensive. It’s expensive but poor, and the three-yearly poor exam can be regarded as the money that the imperial court distributes to everyone to maintain integrity, and it’s also the grace of the Holy One to a gentleman like you who is as clear as water.”

In fact, for Li Zhen, who had been an official in the court all his life and served as a great official in two provinces, he didn't understand what Shu Richang said.Can't help the eyes moist: "The Holy One is sympathetic to me, an old man, it is really a great grace!"

The two talked for a long time, and couldn't sleep anymore.

Shu Richang couldn't help asking: "Mr. Changqi, you have already thought about the topic of Shaanxi Qiuwei this time."

Li Zhen glanced at him: "Ri Chang, where's yours?"

According to the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty, the township examinations generally consisted of three examinations, three days each, with a two-day break after each examination, half a month before and after.In the first three-day exam, there are three "Four Books" essays, in the second exam there are five "Five Classics" questions, and in the third exam, policy theory and poems are tested.

The chief examiner Li Zhen wrote the three questions of the "Four Books", the deputy chief examiner Shu Richang wrote the questions for the "Five Classics", and the chief examiner still gave the questions for the third round.

Among them, the three "Four Books" essays are the most important. If they are done well, they can be admitted directly. As for the next two questions, it doesn't matter how well they are written.

When Shu Richang heard Li Zhen's question, he didn't suspect him, and replied: "Actually, when I was in Huazhou, I already thought about it and drew up a topic. How about you, Mr. Li?"

Li Zhen suddenly put on a serious face: "Ri Chang, are you probing my question? The imperial court has its own system, but it is difficult to talk to you about it."

Shu Ri grew up embarrassed: "Li Gong, I also asked casually, but I forgot the rules."

Li Zhen sighed tiredly: "Ri Chang, I'm just like this. I'm not very talkative. Please don't take it to heart if I offend you. The weather is hot these days, and I'm so tired that I don't have the time to think about the exam questions." The country has been established for nearly a hundred years, and the Four Books and Five Classics have been thoroughly read by scholars. Any sentence is followed by an unknown number of model essays. It is difficult to come up with a suitable test question. The old man is also in a trance, so he simply Put it aside, wait until you have recovered your spirit before making a claim.”

"It's only a few days before the students enter the examination room, Li Gong, you haven't thought about the questions yet, what should you do?" Shu Richang opened his mouth wide in surprise, Mr. Li, isn't this too unreliable?
Seeing his tired face and red eyes, he sighed in his heart: Li Gong is almost [-] years old after all.

Then he said: "Chang Qi, Ambassador Gao is still waiting outside, let's go out for dinner."

"Alright, I can't sleep anyway."

When the two got dressed and returned to the Supreme Court, Gao Linghan was not there.

A long follower replied that there was an accident in the yamen of the chief envoy, and he came to Shaanxi to recruit military and brave imperial envoys.Gao Linghan was furious and hurried back.

Li Zhen asked: "Ri Chang, you are also from the Imperial Academy, who is this Xu Xuan?"

Shu Richang: "The second place in the imperial examination in the eighth year of Xuande is the one who proposed to move the capital last year."

"It turned out to be a villain like him." Li Zhen suddenly realized.

Shu Richang sighed again in his heart: such a famous person, Mr. Li, can't remember, he is really old and stupid.

(End of this chapter)