Chapter three hundred and seventy-fifth champion and second place
Welcome everyone to -:. After a moment of laughter, the east pavilion gradually became quiet. The spring night in the palace was quiet, and the fragrant tea was wafting from the desk. The fourteen examiners began to turn around the table to read the papers. The so-called table turning means that an examination paper starts from
The chief reader begins to review, stamps the first to fifth grade marks and the reader's seal, and then transfers it to the next reader for review. All fourteen readers will review a paper and stamp the grade mark, and finally add
Those with more general, fourth, and fifth marks must be listed in the top three.
Zhang Yuan's Wan Yan Ting Ce was read for a while. Fang Congzhe sat on an armchair and tilted his head slightly to read the paper. At first, there was a smile on his face, but gradually the smile faded and his expression became serious. Just this paper
I read it for nearly half an hour. After reading it, I pondered for a moment, stamped the grade mark and my seal, and handed it to the second assistant Wu Daonan——
When Wu Daonan saw that Fang Congzhe had given Zhang Yuan a second grade, he graded the papers calmly. The other examiners had already started reviewing other papers. They could not wait so stupidly. Half an hour later, Wu Daonan finished reading Zhang Yuan's imperial examination policy.
I can only feel the ups and downs in my heart. What words can I use to describe it? The Lord of Jin conquered Wu and gained two continents. Bingchenke was able to capture a talented person like Zhang Yuan. It is like the powerful minister Zhang Hua of the Western Jin Dynasty said that Emperor Wu of Jin Sima Yan conquered Wu. This was the biggest gain.
But he got two talented people, Lu Ji and Lu Yun——
Liu Chuxian, the Minister of Rites, received Zhang Yuan's examination paper from Wu Daonan and saw that one of the two elders rated it as second-class and the other rated it as first-class. These are both very high evaluations. The evaluation opinions of the two elders will definitely affect the others.
--Whether there are more first-class people or more second-class people, those who have more first-class people can be ranked among the top three in the first class, and those who have more second class can also be ranked among the top two --
The Wenhua Hall is quiet and serene, with two gilded twin cranes in the corner exhaling fragrance. Time passes slowly amidst the rubbing sounds of papers being read.
…
The examiners in the East Pavilion were reading the papers behind closed doors. Those scholars in the capital who were on the examination list had already started drinking and partying. Regardless of their rankings in the palace examination, and regardless of whether they had not participated in the passing ceremony, this Jinshi could not run away, and he was proud of his life.
It is necessary to have all the fun, and how much life is there when drinking and singing. But there are also people who are extremely happy and sad. The oldest scholar in Jinke is named Zhang Shaojian. He is sixty-five years old and has a white beard. He also went on an outing with a group of the same year. I chatted about it.
The crazy boy accidentally fell and seemed to have broken his femur. Now he was in trouble. How could he participate in the grand ceremony the day after tomorrow?
At noon on the 16th, Zhang Yuan and nine other Chinese-style Hanshe colleagues gathered at the Xiangfu Restaurant near Dalongfu Temple. The ten people, in order of age, were Wen Zhenmeng, Sun Jike, Huang Zunsu, Xia Qichang, Xu Guanji, Ruan Dacheng,
Ni Yuanlu, Hong Chengchou, Zhang Dai, Zhang Yuan, everyone toasted and cheered. They agreed not to forget the purpose of the Han Society, to help the world, to show their life ambitions, and to leave a good name in the history of Qing Dynasty——
…
On the afternoon of March 17th, the fourteen marking officers of Dongge finished reviewing all the 348 examination papers. Finally, the two pavilion managers reviewed the grades. At the beginning of the application, the top three and second place rankings were determined.
The rankings of the first-class and three-class people will be determined by the emperor. Zhang Yuan's share of the imperial policy is among the first-class and third-class examination papers. Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet, placed Zhang Yuan in the second class because he did not want Zhang Yuan to enter the first-class. Fang Congzhe proposed to Zhang Yuan
I am quite worried about the "glacier theory" that revolves around three hundred years. I think this is similar to Wang Anshi's "the fate of heaven is not enough to fear, the ancestors are not enough to follow the law, and the words of people are not enough to show compassion" during the political reform of the Northern Song Dynasty. They ignore the warnings and warnings of natural disasters to the world.
The warning function can easily encourage the monarch's arrogance and extravagance. However, according to the marks evaluated by the fourteen reviewers, Zhang Yuan ranked third with eight first-class and six second-class. Fang Congzhe had nothing to do with this result.
He also admitted that Zhang Yuan's court policy was really outstanding——
According to the ancestral system, after the examination examiner finished reading the papers, he had to kowtow and kneel in front of the emperor. The cabinet scholar would read the examination papers for the first, first, and third places to the emperor. Then the emperor would write and appoint the first, second, and third overall winner. But just now, the ceremonial supervisor Lu Shou, the eunuch in charge of the seal, has already passed on the emperor's oral instructions. Without seeing the examiners, he only needs to submit the first and third test papers to the emperor. In the past ten years, not to mention ordinary foreign ministers, even cabinet ministers have rarely seen the emperor's face. , Wu Daonan, the second assistant, took office in August last year. According to the custom, the emperor would summon him to encourage him, but he has not been summoned so far——
Lu Shou and the other two eunuchs of the Supervisor of Ceremonies were waiting outside the East Pavilion. After receiving the three answers from the first class, they immediately rushed to the Hongde Hall of the Qianqing Palace. The fat Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun was wearing a black gauze hat with red tassels and jade hairpins. A black dragon robe with green embroidery was sitting on a dragon chair, with his left foot on a square wooden pier. A palace servant knelt beside the square wooden pier to rub the emperor's feet——
"Long live Lord, the papers for the first and third students selected by the examiner have been delivered. When will I read them to Lord Long live?" Lu Shou, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial department, knelt down and said.
The fifty-four-year-old Emperor Wanli's face was pale and somewhat swollen, making his face white and broad. He said: "First tell me the names of the first and third persons."
Lu Shoudao: "Long live Lord, according to the rules, the ranking must be determined first and then the number can be removed——"
"Rules, rules, rules all day long!"
Emperor Wanli suddenly became angry: "Could it be that I will also cause fraud in the imperial examination? Who among the scholars in the world is not my subject?"
"Yes, yes, slave, I will cancel my account right now."
Lu was startled and quickly opened the seal, then said: "Long live my Lord, these three people are Wen Zhenmeng from Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili Province, Qian Shisheng from Jiashan County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province." Zhang Yuan, Shanyin County."
"Oh, Zhang Yuan has also entered the first class. This man is really talented and learned. Real gold is not afraid of fire. Let's read his strategies for the palace examination first and see what good methods he has for disaster relief and famine preparation."
Emperor Wanli moved his hips slightly to make himself more comfortable, and prepared to listen to the policy.
Lu Shou flipped through the test paper and said in surprise: "Long live my Lord, Zhang Yuan's paper is filled with twelve sheets, I'm afraid there are more than ten thousand words."
"It's so long!" Emperor Wanli was also a little surprised and muttered: "Read it."
Lu Shou started to clear his throat. There was phlegm in his throat. Emperor Wanli became impatient and said, "Let someone else read it. Lu Shou, you are old. If you read these ten thousand words policy, you will probably need someone to help you back to the throne." It’s the ceremonial supervisor.”
"Long live the Lord to take pity on this slave." Lu Shou smiled awkwardly and asked the eunuch Bingbi behind him to come forward and read Zhang Yuan's policy.
The eunuch Bingbi's voice was neither gentle nor serious, and his official language was pure. He read: "I heard from you: The rule of the emperors in ancient times was nothing more than nourishing the people..."
Emperor Wanli squinted his eyes and listened. When he heard the words "taxes are increasing day by day, corvee work is getting heavier, and the people's lives are unbearable", Long Yan could not help but be unhappy. However, this was not the first time he heard these words. The memorials of the officials were more intense than this. There were so many people, some even scolded him for his drunkenness, sex, wealth, and immorality. So he didn’t get angry and continued to listen——
Land annexation, illegal power, occupation of land by vassals, natural disasters, these sharp questions were raised one by one, and Emperor Wanli's face became more and more hesitant. However, Zhang Yuan did not just raise questions and blindly accuse, he also had corresponding strategies to solve the problems. , this made Emperor Wanli nod secretly. Although he was in the deep palace, he had read or heard all the important memorials of foreign ministers. He also knew that the world was not as beautiful as the rule of Yao and Shun, and there were many shortcomings——
When he heard Zhang Yuan's "Glacier Theory", Emperor Wanli couldn't help but sit up straighter. He signaled eunuch Bingbi not to read for the time being, and said to Lu Shou and others: "This Zhang Yuan is knowledgeable and laughs at the rotten scholars in the outer court.
It is unreasonable to blame all disasters on me, and whenever there is a natural disaster, they ask me to repair the province, and think that it is my lack of morality that caused the natural disaster!" In the thirteenth year of Wanli, there was a drought in the capital, and the Wanli Emperor even walked more than ten days from the palace.
He went to the Temple of Heaven to pray for rain and was very pious, but now he no longer believed in that. His heart was full of frustration and disappointment. Who could believe that a supreme emperor would have such a mentality.
Lu Shou followed the emperor's wishes and said: "Xunzi once said that the way of heaven is permanent. It will not survive for Yao or destroy it for Jie. There were still floods for ten years during Yao's time. Only then did Dayu control the floods. There is a certain number of natural disasters. How could it be possible?
I can’t blame Long Live the Lord.”
Emperor Wanli felt much better and asked the eunuch to continue reading. Although Zhang Yuan's policy statement was full of words, there were no empty clichés and the words were sincere. The analysis was thorough, and his heart of loyalty to the emperor and the country was beyond words. It took him most of an hour to listen to it.
, Emperor Wanli did not feel tired, and then listened to the strategies of Wen Zhenmeng and Qian Shisheng, and ordered: "The Zhubi waiter." He stood up from the dragon chair, supported the shoulders of a short and sturdy chamberlain, and walked to a table.
Zitan sat down at the imperial desk, looked at the headers of the three papers, and said, "There are actually two people from Zhejiang——" He immediately picked up his ink pen and wrote "first, first, third place" on the header of Qian Shisheng's test paper.
A Zhu character...
The sky was already darkening. Lu Shou, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, came to the Huangjimen cabinet with the test papers for the first-class and three-person classes designated by Yubi. The fourteen paper readers were all waiting eagerly. When they saw that they had been opened, they asked if they knew.
The emperor ordered it to be opened. What else could the officials do? They immediately opened all the other papers and the first assistant, Fang Congzhe, wrote the yellow list with a red pen. The list was mounted on two layers of yellow paper. It was shining with golden light, so it was also called the golden list.
The Secretary of Shangbao sealed the list with the emperor's seal, and the official who made the imperial edict immediately wrote a biography note. The yellow list was awarded to Liu Chuxian, the Minister of Rites, and the biography note was given to the minister of Honglu Temple to prepare for the biography ceremony. Everything was in order -
—
The Chuan Lu ceremony is a grand ceremony of the country. The Chuan Lu ceremony is only held when the emperor ascends to the throne, gets married, has a long life, goes on a triumphant expedition, and becomes a Jinshi. Moreover, the eunuch announces that the emperor will come to the Huangji Hall to receive the new Jinshi in person the next day. This is the first time in the past four years.
After what happened, the officials of the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple in charge of the ceremony immediately became nervous and prepared all night for fear of something going wrong——
On the morning of March 18th, 347 scholars of Bingchenke Chinese style (the old Jinshi who broke his leg could not come) gathered in the Imperial College to receive Jinshi robes. The robes were bright red and had no padding on the chest.
They immediately changed into their trousers, and the Imperial College offered wine to teach them the relevant etiquette. Then the Imperial College took carriages, and escorted by sergeants from the Army and Horse Division of the Five Cities, they arrived at Chengtian Gate in a mighty manner. They were then led by officials from the Ministry of Rites
Outside the Imperial Palace, all the civil and military officials are present today. It is rare that the emperor has not been in court for more than ten years——
Zhang Yuan was still ranked fifth according to the examination ranking. He was wearing a black gauze hat and a big red robe. He was in high spirits and beaming with joy. At three o'clock in the morning, the minister of Honglu Temple invited the emperor to ascend to the palace.
In front of the officials, Emperor Wanli walked out slowly under the supervision of two chamberlains. Many officials couldn't help but burst into tears when they saw the emperor. They hadn't seen him for many years——
The emperor ascended the throne, the music stopped, and a salute was held in the palace. After all the civil and military officials kowtowed, 347 new scholars followed and bowed four times. Two deacons carried the imperial edict. Liu Chuxian, the Minister of Rites, read out the imperial edict.
:
"On the fifteenth day of March in the forty-fourth year of Wanli, we tried to test the world's tributes. The first three people were awarded Jinshi, the second sixty-seven people were awarded Jinshi origin, and the third best two hundred and seventy-eight people were awarded the same Jinshi.
Origin."
After the announcement was completed, the Chuanlu official began to roll the name. The civil and military officials and scholars in the main hall listened with bated breath. The Chuanlu official sang: "The first person, the first person, Zhang Yuan——"
Zhang Yuan's body trembled slightly, which was the horror of the sudden arrival of great joy. Ever since he was framed and passed the imperial examination by cutting off the examination papers, he had been extremely eager to be the number one scholar. To rank first in the imperial examination and become famous all over the world, this was the dream of all the people in the world who were interested in the imperial examination.
Who can be indifferent to the glory that a scholar dreams of?
"First place in the first class, Zhang Yuan——"
The official sang the song again, and a praise official came over and said softly: "Zhang Yuan kneels down after leaving work."
Zhang Yuan hurriedly walked out of the queue and was about to kneel down when he heard a eunuch in the palace scream: "The Holy One has a decree. Zhang Yuan comes forward and kneels down to see it."
The salute officer then led Zhang Yuan forward for more than ten steps. When he was still five or six feet away from the Wanli Emperor on the throne, he knelt down and saluted. The Wanli Emperor looked down at the youngest number one scholar since the Ming Dynasty was established——
The official Chuan Lu sang again: "The first one and the second one are Wen Zhenmeng."
Wen Zhenmeng also followed the ceremonial officer to Zhang Yuan and knelt down to the emperor. The two Han Dynasty giants ranked first and second, how happy they were!
Qian Shisheng, the first and third person, also went out of class to kneel down, while the second and third graders only took the roll call but did not leave the class to salute. After the third person finished singing, Shao music started again. The new Jinshi bowed four times and stood up.
When the case comes out of the left gate of Huangji, umbrellas, drums and music will greet the people, and all the Jinshi will follow behind. The yellow list will be hung at the left gate of Chang'an——
The drum music, umbrella covers, and rites of Shuntian Prefecture have been waiting outside the left gate of Chang'an for a long time. Li Changgeng, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, led his officials to personally send off the number one scholar in the new science department. This is an honor that only the number one scholar can have.
A tall horse with a snow-white coat respectfully asked Duke Zhuangyuan to get on the horse and said: "Don't worry, Duke Zhuangyuan, this horse is very tame. It doesn't matter if you have never ridden a horse before. There is a little person waiting on you."
Although Zhang Yuan has never ridden a horse, he has ridden a mule. The white mule and snow are as good as a good horse. He immediately mounted the big white horse and headed towards the East Fourth Archway accompanied by Li Fuyin. Along the way, people lined the streets and fought for each other.
Looking at the number one scholar, praising the handsome young man who is the number one scholar today——
Shang Zhouzuo was also on duty at the Huangji Palace today. After the passing ceremony, the emperor left two elders to speak, and the rest of the ministers exited the hall. Shang Zhouzuo was not as happy as Zhang Yuan, and took a car to catch up with Shuntian Mansion.
With the help of drum music, we returned to our courtyard in the East Fourth Archway together. The Shang family and several servants of Zhang Yuan had received the good news, and they greeted each other happily at the door, with firecrackers, gongs and drums, and a noisy celebration——
In order to avoid the firecrackers, Jing Wei held Fanghua's hand and stood aside. The little girl looked at Zhang Yuan who was riding a big white horse and wearing a red robe with bright eyes, and the smile on her face bloomed like a hibiscus——
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The update is a little late, but the happiness of Jiezi is not too late. The four-year imperial examination journey is complete today. Please vote and congratulate me.
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