Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan left the Liu Mansion, chatting as they walked.
"I don't know if my mentor has any methods that can make us..."
Huang Jinquan only said half of what he said. Some things cannot be said in full or even in a very cryptic way. Anyway, as long as everyone knows about it, if outsiders know about it, it will be easy to take advantage of it and make a big fuss about it.
The two of them are still scholars, so they don't attract anyone's attention, but now Liu Jin has indeed become famous, and the two of them are very aware of this, so they are cautious when doing things, for fear of injuring their mentor.
"We can't predict our mentor's abilities."
Tong Yuan smiled and shook his head. He didn't have the slightest confidence in passing the Qiu Wei exam before, but now Liu Jin's words made him confident.
"That's a pity. Brother Lin went to Huangjin Continent and couldn't participate in this Qiu Wei together. Otherwise, if the three of us and our mentor attended Qiu Wei together and went to high school together, wouldn't it become a story for eternity?"
Huang Jinquan nodded, then thought of Lin Shuhong who was going to Golden Continent, and said with a little regret.
"Yes, Brother Lin is no longer here, and I always feel that something is missing."
Tong Yuan also nodded and said.
The two of them were chatting as they walked, and before they knew it, they arrived at a relatively prosperous part of the capital.
Because the Autumn Wei Examination is about to take place, the capital has also gathered talents from all over Beizhili who have come to take the exam.
Beizhili has a special status because it is where the capital is located, so the autumn examinations are all held in Shuntian Mansion in the capital. Also because here in the capital, in order to show the importance the imperial court attaches to the triennial ethics ceremony, the capital here
In Bian's Qiuwei examination, the Emperor of Heaven usually personally appointed important officials from the imperial court to serve as examiners.
Therefore, although the literary style here in Beizhili is far less prosperous than that in the Jiangnan area, and the level of literary talents is not as good as that in the Jiangnan area, the triennial Luncai Ceremony here in Beizhili is still very lively.
Of course, the most exciting time is after the autumn period, and in the spring period next year, all the talents of the Ming Dynasty will gather in the capital, and if they just throw them around, they can smash out several Juren masters. That's called
lively.
Usually at that time, temples, restaurants, teahouses, brothels, etc. here in the capital would hold some poetry gatherings. Following the arty style, they would pay some money to let these literary talents compete with each other and write poems and so on. If something shocking happened to the world.
His works can also rise with his fame.
Naturally, talented literati are also very keen on such activities, as they can showcase their talents. All talented literati have their own arrogance. If they don't compete, everyone will have their nostrils in the sky, and no one will be convinced.
Secondly, it is also for fame. Many famous poets and poets in history became famous through such activities. Wang Bo, who wrote the "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion", is the most typical one. The original intention of Yan Gong in organizing this activity was to let his
My son-in-law, Bachelor Meng, wrote the preface to honor his name. He may be really talented, or he may have found someone to buy the article in advance, but no matter what, it was not prepared for Wang Bo.
Anyone with a discerning eye knows this, so everyone will refute each other, saying that they are not talented enough to write any good articles and so on.
But when he met Wang Bo, a stupid young man, he picked up the pen and started writing without any excuses, and wrote the "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" that has been passed down through the ages.
As soon as "the falling clouds and the lonely owl fly together, the autumn water and the sky are the same color", not only did Wang Bo's name spread through the ages, but the Tengwang Pavilion also became one of the three famous buildings in Jiangnan.
Even Li Yuanying, the king of Teng who built the Tengwang Pavilion, became well-known. Otherwise, who would remember Li Yuan's youngest son and the younger brother of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin?
It can be seen from this that why literati and talented people are keen on such activities, and why restaurants, teahouses, brothels, temples and the like are willing to hold such activities. In the final analysis, it is for fame. Having fame will naturally bring benefits.
Fame and wealth have been linked together since ancient times.
Although the most lively spring season has not yet arrived in the capital at this time, the autumn season is approaching, and it has become a grand gathering for the literati and talented people in the North Zhili area.
No matter how much you weigh, it doesn't stop these intellectual talents from gathering together, climbing high, looking into the distance, composing poems by the river, and so on.
Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan were walking on the streets of the capital. Looking up, they saw restaurants, teahouses, etc., filled with intellectual talents dressed as scholars.
“It’s really lively~”
Huang Jinquan said to Tong Yuan with a smile on his face.
"Yes, everyone is high-spirited, scolding Fang Qiu, pointing out the country, and inspiring writing."
Tong Yuan also had a smile on his face. This kind of event is what scholars like them like the most.
"Are these Brother Huang and Brother Tong here?"
Above Wangyue Tower, a group of literary talents were reciting poems and lyrics. Some people also immediately saw Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan walking on the street, and immediately couldn't help but shout to the two people upstairs.
"Brother Liu, Brother Jiang, Brother Ouyang~"
Hearing someone calling them upstairs, Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan looked up and immediately spotted a few familiar people. They were also slightly startled because they had arrived at Wangyue Tower without knowing it.
Wangyuelou was Liu Jin's instant enemy. Wangyuelou also took off because of Liu Jin's remarks. Now it has become the most famous restaurant in the capital, and even opened a branch specializing in seafood.
Because of Liu Jin's relationship, Wangyue Tower has naturally become a favorite place for literati. The decoration here closely follows the fashion trends of the capital, with glass windows, a large number of glass products, and even at night, the glass lights are dimmed.
It immediately lights up and becomes a beacon-like presence around it.
"Brother Huang, Brother Tong, come up quickly~"
"Yes, yes, come up quickly, everyone is working on the topic now."
"I haven't seen these two brothers since I came to the capital. I thought they were not going to participate in this autumn festival."
The people upstairs told them to go up quickly. Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan looked at each other, smiled and entered Wangyue Tower, and soon arrived at the third floor of Wangyue Tower.
The third floor of Wangyue Tower has been taken over by these literati. At this time, more than a dozen literati gathered together, talking and laughing with each other, and it was very lively.
Seeing the arrival of Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan, they also introduced each other and got to know each other. They took the Qiuwei exam together at the same time, in the same subject, and in the same year. What's more, they are both from Beizhili. This relationship
But it's not ordinary.
They called each other Brother Liu, Brother Zhang, Brother Li, etc., and if they met someone with the same surname, they would call each other by their names. The introduction was also lively, but soon, they were again
Back to the topic.
"Brothers, who do you think will be the examiner of this provincial examination?"
The proposer of this gathering was Jiang Shan, a local native of the capital. Naturally, his family's conditions were very good. After everyone got acquainted with each other, he said with a smile.
"I think it's probably Mr. Li or Mr. Xie."
Ouyang Wen then said, this Ouyang Wen is also a famous talent here in Beizhili. He was the head of the case for the last Shuntian Prefecture examination and is also one of the most active people now.
"Brother Ouyang is wrong. Li Gong or Xie Gong will probably preside over the Spring Palace next year. As for the Autumn Palace, I think they are probably selected from the six ministers, and the imperial court has always attached great importance to us in Beizhili. I
It seems likely that the prince will preside over it."
The speaker was Liu Hongzhi, who was also the head of the last court examination in Baoding Prefecture, Beizhili. The prince he mentioned was the current Minister of Civil Affairs, Wang Hao.
"What Brother Liu said makes sense. According to the past practice of the provincial examinations, the cabinet minister presides over the Spring Palace and the Six Ministers preside over the Autumn Palace. This is almost a convention. It is very likely that the prince will preside over the Autumn Palace Examination this time."
Jiang Shan nodded and said, he is from the capital and is very familiar with this area.
The imperial court attaches great importance to the triennial Luncai Ceremony. The examiners of the provincial examinations are ministers directly appointed by the imperial court to go to each province to preside over them. As for Beizhili, they have a special status. The examiners are even higher in rank, usually six.
The minister would preside over the examination, and sometimes the cabinet minister might serve as the examiner, in order to show that the imperial court attached great importance to the imperial examination.
"I think it might be Mr. Xu from the Ministry of Rites."
Someone thought for a while and said, "Xu Gong" refers to Xu Qiong, the current Minister of Rites.
"Perhaps it's also possible that he is Duke Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue."
Some people also proposed that the Ministry of Revenue should be appointed as the Minister of the Zhou Dynasty, and some people also expressed their support.
Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan never spoke, but listened quietly. Everyone likes to guess the examiner before the exam just to predict the questions, because each examiner has a completely different style of answering questions.
For example, Zhou Jing, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, is relatively straightforward and upright, so if he is the examiner, the questions he asks are generally not too tricky. If it is Wang Hao, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, this question
The topic may be relatively cold.
In addition to setting the questions, the examiner's personal preferences also need to be paid attention to. When writing the exam according to the examiner's preferences, you will naturally get extra points and the possibility of passing the provincial examination will be higher.
This is why before the exam, these talented people like to guess the examiner and guess the questions. The imperial examination is too difficult and too abnormal.
If you can guess the examiner in advance and make some preparations, your probability of success will increase by a few points.
Everyone expressed their opinions one after another, how many people they thought Wang Hao, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, should be the examiner this time, but they thought Zhou Jing, the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, and Xu Qiong, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, should be the examiners.
Quite a few.
Because of the past practice, basically the three ministers, namely the Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites, came to do it. As for Ma Wensheng, the minister of the Ministry of War, there was no one who even proposed it.