The door of the Taoist Temple in the west of the city was open, reflecting the small bridge, flowing water, and lush trees and bamboos. Ye Qing came out alone and looked at the passers-by on the street, feeling like he was in a trance and reincarnated.
But at this time, the sky was overcast and dark, and the cool wind blew by and made a slight whistling sound. After being stunned for a long time, Ye Qing frowned and hurried to the Yamen.
At this time in the morning, the yamen was very quiet, with only two guards standing in front of the door. Ye Qing showed the copper seal and was let through. When he arrived, he saw an official inside sorting out documents in front of the case.
Ye Qing went in and bowed: "Sir, Ye Qing, a scholar from Pingshou County, is here to report."
The official didn't expect someone to come in at this time. He was startled and waved his hand: "Wait a moment, I will file these documents."
It didn't take much time to finish talking. The official took a sip of tea and said, "Send over all your household registration documents."
At this time, there were still seven days before the state examination. Since candidates from all over the country traveled far away from each other, in order to prevent delays on the road, the registration time was extended to one month, and registration was available until the last day before the examination.
In fact, no candidate is so late, and the long journey will start a month in advance. By this time, the registration is basically completed, so it seems deserted.
The famous official checked the files one by one and said angrily: "You are young and have good literary talent. You are a scholar born in the middle school, but why did you come just now? I'm afraid it won't be delayed if it is a few days later."
Ye Qing smiled bitterly and replied: "Students are young, they have misjudged the path and missed the time."
The official snorted, but instead of scolding him, he helped me sign up and received the gold medal. It was indeed a gold medal, weighing about two taels.
And not knowing whether to leave it out of good intentions, the official inquired carefully and found out that the residence had not yet been decided, so he recommended several inns where the candidates gathered.
After thanking him, he left the house. He held the gold medal tightly and looked back at the state capital. It was majestic and solemn, faintly green under the sun. It was the center of power for hundreds of thousands of households in the city and eight million people in the state. It was also the place where the destiny was decided.
Even if you are full of confidence, it feels uncomfortable to have your fate decided by others.
It's a lie to say that I'm not worried these days. I'm just worried that it's useless. I consciously don't think too much. Now I'm relieved. My mind is revived and mixed, like a dream, and it's hard to distinguish the taste.
In the end, he just sighed: "Isn't it just like this when God wants to give great responsibility to this people?"
Ye Qing was worried. After thinking about it, he went to the inn where the candidates gathered. There were dozens of scholars here. Who dared to cause trouble?
Arriving at a "Lai Fu Inn", Ye Qing just smiled. This was the hotel where he had stayed in his previous life. When he entered, he heard a kettle being boiled over a charcoal fire. It was already boiling, and the hot air was making a sizzling sound.
, making a small and coherent sound from time to time.
"Sir, please come in...why are you laughing?" the shopkeeper greeted.
Ye Qing smiled. He couldn't say that the name of "Laifu" was the same as the name of a dog, but he praised: "Laifu, a good name, a good sign."
"This young man is really discerning. When my father opened this shop, he couldn't think of a name. He spent five taels of silver to consult a scholar and came up with this name. Don't tell me, with this name, the business of my small shop will be great.
It's prosperous, and the guests are willing to live there."
While the shopkeeper was chattering, he poured a cup of tea and brought it to him with a warm smile: "Sir, please rinse yourself and we will serve you some tea later."
Another waiter immediately brought a copper basin and put on a snow-white towel.
Ye Qing rinsed his mouth, washed his hands and face, and immediately felt comfortable. He said with a smile: "It's not just the name, the service in your store is also good... Give me a private room, and then serve the dishes, three dishes and one
Just soup, use the top quality stuff from your store."
The shopkeeper said with an apologetic smile: "Sir, please be patient, our restaurant is no longer elegant, and I think it's too noisy for you. In fact, some of the courtyards are full of scholars, and they can still exchange ideas..."
Before he finished speaking, Ye Qing laughed. In his previous life, Ye Qing really believed this trick. Later he found out that it was a trick of the store to raise the price, so he laughed and scolded: "Stop talking nonsense, I know you usually keep at least two
A private room, don’t play tricks in front of me.”
"I'll give you money, and you'll stay there until the results are released. It's just accommodation fees, and you'll get food as you please." He said, taking out a gold ingot from his arms and throwing it up.
When the shopkeeper took it and looked at it, he found it was official silver, with a thick white background and frosty lines. He immediately smiled and said with a bow and a smile: "This old man is an expert, our shop will handle it immediately.
The cost of staying in a hotel with room and board is 700 cash per day, and without room and board is 500 cash. It will be half a month until the results are released, and it only costs 700 taels and a half..."
"I'll reward you with whatever is extra. As long as the service is better," Ye Qing said, "Now you can make some arrangements for me upstairs."
The shopkeeper smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits and he said: "Thank you for the reward, sir. Please come in now."
Ye Qing followed the boss upstairs. He saw eight dining rooms separated by screens and ordered some dishes. It was said that the crabs were getting fat at this time, so he ordered four.
Not long after Ye Qing sat down, he saw the waiter serving the food and warming up a pot of wine.
At noon, the sun was shining high, but it was no longer hot. I heard a pipa playing through the wall, and a woman sang a song in a low voice. Some people cheered and lost some copper coins and silver.
Ye Qing drank a glass of wine. Originally, he did not drink on earth, but now, at some point, he developed the habit of drinking a few drinks from time to time. After listening to this song, he felt lost and thoughtful.
Looking around again, I saw that although the screen seats were separated, I could actually see a little bit. The people inside were basically exam candidates, or there were a few businessmen.
Ye Qing leaned on the chair, holding the wine glass with one hand, and only glanced briefly. He saw that these scholars were gathered in white and red, or a little yellowish, and he sighed inwardly.
There are only twenty children in the county every three years. Unlike on earth, there is a suitable age for taking the exam. Therefore, normally, only six children can take the county examination at most. There are only one hundred and twenty people. The entire
The county only has a thousand people.
The number of candidates from the county to the state was almost the same, slightly less, with 800 scholars taking the exam.
How difficult it is to get twenty from eight hundred people. With literary talent, luck, family background, and luck, these people in this restaurant may not have any chance at all.
When I was in a daze, I heard someone say: "Have you heard? This time the state examination, Mr. Fan Linfan, the inspector, will personally preside over the state examination."
After hearing this, Ye Qing was startled. In this state, the governor is the highest, but the inspector is the adjutant. Although the supervisor is in charge of civil affairs, he usually does not personally preside over the state examination. This person personally presides over the state examination, but
Something unusual.
Governor's Palace
At this time, the lights were bright, but there was a sound inside.
"...Autumn is coming, and the Beimang border village must be summoned to reorganize to prevent the small tribes of the Northern Wei Dynasty from going south to fight the autumn wind."
"Follow your orders"
"Generals Yao, Chen, and Zhang, please prepare yourself for training. I want to see a battle-ready army on the campus in the west of the city."
"The general will obey his orders"
"General Zhang, we are leading a battalion north to deploy troops and help local bandits. This year, caravans have reported losses, and how many groups of bandits have suddenly appeared in the Beiman Mountains? Why do you think it happened at this time?" Governor Governor
The voice turned into a sneer.
"This..." General Zhang was sweating on his forehead and secretly complaining. Who knows which family's mastermind or a spy from the Northern Wei Dynasty? This could be possible.
"I don't care whether they are real bandits or fake bandits. They will be eliminated within a month and there must be no hidden dangers left."
"The mission will eventually be completed"
"...Military affairs are like this, and civil affairs are the foundation of the country and cannot be abandoned in one day. Peng Jiaoyu said that you should supervise the state schools and the students in each school in the county schools to concentrate on their homework. Students who are not taking the exam this year should not blindly follow the exam schedule to join in the fun."
"yes"
"Also, this state examination is not as usual as usual. The court attaches great importance to it. Mr. Fan, I still have to trouble you."
"What did the Governor say? Since you are the master, the court has its own laws. I can do some assisting things. This is what it should be."
Fan Lin smiled warmly. He was the nominal adjutant and his attitude was very upright. He was in charge of civil affairs. At this time, he sighed again: "I just received a report that Ye Qing has left the Taoist temple and arrived at the hotel."
After a pause, he continued: "Although I am not in charge of the exams in Nancang County, I have been present at banquets for new scholars. I have met both Yu Fan and Ye Qing. They have different styles and are both outstanding people."
Scholars, I held hands and encouraged them at that time, hoping that they would show their talents in the state examination or even the palace examination. Who would have expected...
The governor's eyes narrowed, and out of some considerations, he took a look inside the hall and saw that the documents were basically processed. He waved his other staff to leave, leaving only a few third- and fourth-rank officials.
"Under normal circumstances, I would have dealt with it, but this time is different." The governor smiled coldly: "Those here are all important officials of the imperial court, and they must have heard some rumors."
"Both the Taoist sect and the imperial court strictly follow the rules and require local governments to accumulate strength. This is a precautionary measure, but it is unprecedented."
The door was tightly closed, and several people silently acquiesced. Although they would not admit it openly, they all had thoughts in their hearts.
Before Da Cai's death, even in the late dynasty, he strengthened control and weakened the local area. How could he allow the local area to strengthen its strength?
Such contradictory instructions are unprecedented in history.
The governor was silent for a while and then said with a smile: "Although you don't say it clearly, do you dare to be careless? If you save a little more now, maybe you will have more vitality in the future. This vitality is not only for the people under your rule, but also for ourselves and ourselves."
So does the family."
"It is extremely important to have abundant financial resources and self-sufficiency in the economy. It is extremely important to unite the large and small families under the rule and have most of the scholars on our side."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and they were all silent and deep in thought.
Then I heard the governor sneer: "In my opinion, both Yu Fan and Ye Qing are inappropriate, but it is not appropriate to directly oppress them at this time, as it goes against the overall interests of the court."
Several people looked at each other and nodded.
Then I heard the governor's voice turn cold: "What we are really guarding against is not an individual, not a family, but the ambition to break the balance..."
Perhaps he felt that the atmosphere was too heavy, so the governor softened his tone and said, "Let me tell you something first. After the August Civil Service, the chief officials and adjutants of counties and counties will come to the state capital to report on their work and convey the will of the imperial court. All towns with more than 30,000 people,
All large clans with a population of more than 5,000 must be able to control them and reduce consumption as much as possible in the past few years..."
The discussion of this specific matter finally changed the atmosphere. After talking for a while, the discussion was settled, and everyone left wisely, leaving the governor alone in deep thought.