It was raining heavily, shrouding the entire city of Beijing in a haze of drizzle, which made people feel bored.
Unlike the urban water coexistence in the south, the north is drier, and the rainwater flows into the Haihe River through the sewers and disappears.
On the soaked ground, the dust turned into mud, and there were yellow traces everywhere under the trampling of people and animals, making it look dirty and messy.
It would be better if it rained heavily, as it would flush the mud into the sewers, but it was light rain.
Gu Yuan wore cloth shoes and walked on the slightly muddy street. Carriages passed by from time to time. No matter how careful he was, he couldn't avoid some mud.
As a result, his already shabby clothes looked even more desolate, and his slightly curved back made him look like a small farmer in the countryside, not a scholar at all.
But he didn't take it seriously and still walked with his head held high and his chest high.
"Brother Gu——"
At this time, a carriage suddenly stopped on the side of the road, and a slightly elegant man opened the curtain: "Let's get in the carriage together!"
"Do you know where I'm going?"
"Fanwang Street, who doesn't know it?"
The man smiled, not caring about his dirty clothes, and helped him up.
Gu Yuan got into the car and quickly took off his clothes and shoes, for fear of soiling this ordinary carriage.
"You should change into this!" The man brought a package: "These are my old clothes, as well as shoes and socks. Today is a good day, so I have to be decent."
Gu Yuan wanted to speak, but as the words were on his lips, he swallowed them deeply and just sat there and put on his clothes.
The man opposite looked at him with a smile.
Afterwards, the two sat across from each other, and Gu Yuan felt emotional.
This Mr. Zhao is extraordinary both in talent and appearance, but he was born lame.
Compared with his hunchback, it is more difficult for a lame person. If he were not born in a wealthy family, how could he be alive today?
"Are you going too today?"
However, Zhao Chun did not take it seriously and said calmly: "Of course, the two kings do not stick to their status and reputation. As long as they have talent, they can be admitted."
"What does it matter if someone has a leg problem?"
"I admire you greatly for your talent, since you can win the championship."
Gu Yuan raised his head and said sincerely: "It's just that the two vassal kings must go somewhere to join the country, but they are thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid your government won't be willing to let them go!"
"As long as you have an official status, what should you fear?"
Zhao Chun chuckled.
The two of them looked at each other in silence.
The wheels of the carriage turned, and Zhao Chun suddenly said: "Brother Gu, do you definitely want to be an official?"
"Otherwise? Will all this talent just be put into a coffin?"
Gu Yuan raised his head and said firmly: "If you don't become an official and hold power, I would rather die."
This time, it was complete silence.
Both of them were talented, but they were rejected by the imperial examination.
However, not only the imperial examination, but also his daily life was quite inconvenient because of his appearance.
It is precisely because of this that it is necessary to add official positions and shape status, so as to truly stand up and be a good person.
The most typical example in this regard is Yanzi of Qi State in the late Spring and Autumn Period.
By the time the two arrived at the commonly known Prince Street, the place was already crowded with people. A large number of scholars and warriors came to apply for jobs, all wanting to serve the two princes.
"King of Qin? King of Qi?" Zhao Chun suddenly asked,
The two palaces are side by side, both with red carpets to welcome talents from all over the world.
"King Qi——"
Gu Yuan said decisively: "The King of Qin has already entered the country, and many people have already pledged their allegiance to him. His power can be seen from the fact that he returned from the grassland and recruited hundreds of people."
"The King of Qi is different. He is single and weak, so there is room for you and me."
The central gates of the two mansions were wide open, and the crowds in the King Qin's courtyard were surging, but the King of Qi was only in twos and threes, so he could see everything clearly.
Zhao Chun nodded in agreement and then walked towards Prince Qi's Mansion.
The Prince's Mansion was also very courteous to the corporal. The central door was opened wide, and many servants were sent to arrange tables, chairs and benches in the long corridor, and served snacks and hot tea.
"How dare a hunchback come to respond?"
"Not only that, there are also lame people——"
They were whispering to each other in a very low voice, but it made the two of them very angry. However, they did not ridicule them face to face, and this made them angry.
After all, no one knows whether these servants are the spies of King Qi, reporting on his situation?
The most annoying thing in the world is a villain who puts on airs and makes fun of others.
"When your number is called, go to the palace."
Soon, the two of them received their number plates.
Gu Yuan looked up and saw written in large characters and numbers:
One hundred ginseng number four
134
It had just arrived, and it was still raining lightly. I never expected that there would be so many people there.
Looking back, I saw an endless stream of people coming to sit down, either closing their eyes to relax, or eating snacks and drinking tea, with different expressions.
Soon, the time reached noon.
Among those who go in, those who come out are in despair, and those who have not come out must remain.
Soon, Gu Yuan was called.
He ignored the ridicule of others and entered resolutely.
King Qi Zhu Cunhua lowered his head, thinking about it all morning, making him mentally exhausted.
"Sir, someone is coming." The eunuch on the side shouted quickly.
Only then did he force himself to cheer up.
"Hunchback?" King Qi was stunned, but a good education changed his face and kept smiling.
"what can you do?"
"I, Gu Yuan, am from Wanping. Because of my appearance, I was not allowed to take part in the imperial examination, so I have been wasting my time till now."
"But after reading poetry and books for a long time, I can not only do eight-legged essays, but also read through some classics and historical collections..."
"Okay, I'll give you an hour to write an eight-part essay."
King Qi said in a deep voice.
Soon, Gu Yuan came to another room. There was a desk, pens, ink, paper and inkstones. Many people were immersed in writing and didn't even bother to look at him.
This made him incredibly excited.
Not being kicked out is the biggest surprise.
On King Qi's side, there was a hunchback in front of him, and a lame man came behind him.
However, he is neatly dressed and has a handsome appearance. He obviously comes from a wealthy family.
After being asked about their names, they were much more modest and they only had a vague understanding of them.
"Then what are you best at?"
"Students are best at calculating."
"Oh? This is a specialty." King Qi said with a smile: "Nowadays, the provincial examination and the general examination also test arithmetic, so you have been delayed."
"Come here, prepare a table for this young master, and ask the chief historian to come up with arithmetic problems to study."
And soon, both of them passed the exam, and both of them were outstanding, and could be regarded as talented people.
King Qi struggled for a long time, and the appearance of the two made him want to reject them directly.
As a result, Chang Shi made it clear: "Your Highness is inferior to the King of Qin, so why do you drive out such talents?
No matter how bad it is, a thousand gold worth of horse bones will not be a loss to His Highness."
Only then did the King of Qi become interested, and promised him an official position, and he was brought into the government as a staff officer.
As for Prince Qi's palace, the lame and hunchback were selected, which immediately caused an uproar in the entire capital.
Not to mention those who laugh at it, but for those who have no hope of taking the imperial examination, or who are proud of their talents, this is definitely an attractive opportunity.
Learned the art of literature and martial arts, and brought goods to the emperor's family.
A prince is also a king, and he will become a powerful vassal king in the future. A vassal state is also a country!
Enough to honor our ancestors.
In just half a day, the number of people who came to Prince Qi's Mansion suddenly exceeded a thousand people, and their lively appearance was even better than that of Prince Qin's Mansion.
King Qin clicked his tongue and said, "King Qi is one step ahead."
In the East Palace, the prince was silent for a long time.
The eunuch on the side said uneasily: "The King of Qi has recruited so many talents and his reputation in the capital has soared. I'm afraid it will be detrimental to His Highness!"
"In a year and a half at most, he will have to go to feudal lordship, so please be patient!"
The prince remembered Zhao Shu's instructions before leaving, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said in a deep voice.
He looked out the window, and for a moment he couldn't figure out what his father was thinking.
Even if he is an heir, he is still a king and a minister. How can he tolerate the increase in power of his ministers?
In the palace, the emperor heard about his situation.
However, unlike the fear or anger he imagined, Zhu Yixi raised her head and teased the two red-tailed parrots.
This is a gift from the Portuguese.
Apparently they were transported from Africa, Southeast Asia, or South America. They were displaced for several months along the way, and countless people died, only two of them survived.
Fortunately, they are a male and a female.
The tiny shreds of meat were picked up with chopsticks and carefully brought to the cage. The parrot's sharp beak pecked it and swallowed it quickly.
"delicious--"
After months of training, this sentence is quite smooth.
They eat as much as the emperor feeds them.
It wasn't until their bellies were full that they stopped in their nests, pecked their feathers, and couldn't say a word.
Zhu Yixi suddenly felt bored, and then turned her head: "The affairs of Prince Qi's Mansion are quite good."
Yang Le on the side was shocked. He really didn't expect that his report would receive such words from the emperor.
"Let them continue their work without stopping them."
"But Your Majesty, there are many great talents among these people!"
After hearing this, the emperor slowly sat down on the couch, rested his head on the pillow, and chuckled: "Great talent? There are hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty, but there are still few talents?"
"Even if he is such a talented person, is it worth me to make an exception and appoint him as an official?"
Yang Le was speechless.
For the entire Ming Dynasty, there are simply too many talents.
Although the imperial examination is a narrow channel, it is undeniable that nine out of ten people it recruits are talented people, and there is almost no fool in the imperial examination.
But even so, Yang Le had never expected such a reaction from the emperor.
Zhu Yixi closed his eyes to rest his mind and stopped talking. No one dared to disturb him, and the palace fell into a certain atmosphere of silence.
In fact, the imperial examination system has obvious advantages and great disadvantages.
Some people are partial to subjects, such as being good at mathematics, but not good at writing essays; some people are proficient in astronomy and geography, and have a thorough understanding of classics and history, but they still have trouble passing the imperial examination.
The imperial examination, or stereotyped writing, and even the public examination in later generations were all designed to select talents suitable for the officialdom framework.
The most obvious characteristics are honesty, dexterity, etc. Those who are too jumpy and not obedient will naturally be eliminated.
Of course, the obvious example is discrimination against people with imperfect appearance.
Such examples abound among the people, and many people who are self-reliant on their talents are increasingly dissatisfied with stereotyped writing and imperial examinations.
Obviously, such a person cannot pass the imperial examination, be legally absorbed into the officialdom, and become the emperor's minions.
The harm of staying among the people is obvious.
Besides, this seems wasteful.
At this time, it happened that the vassal king was short of talents, so he made the best of both worlds and recruited them to avoid his resentment.
For the court, this has more advantages than disadvantages.
As the saying goes, China’s most indispensable thing is talents.
Liu Bang relied on Pei County, and Zhu Yuanzhang relied on Fengyang. Almost all of them had talents from one county, enough to support an empire.
If the prince establishes a tradition of vassalage, then over a long period of time, a large number of Chinese talents will go to the frontiers and fill various vassal states. What kind of grand occasion will this be?
After coming back from his imagination, the emperor suddenly said: "I want to build a zoo to share all the rare birds and animals in the palace with the people and enjoy them together."
"Your Majesty is wise." Liu Afu, Yang Le and other eunuchs naturally had no reason to object and responded loudly.
The royal family of the Ming Dynasty was very interested in rare birds and animals. They set up a special livestock house in the forbidden area, which was managed by an admiral and eunuch and several secretaries.
The most cherished and symbolic species are the species that are sent as tribute from outside the territory. On the one hand, they are rarely seen in China, and on the other hand, they can be used to declare that the country's prestige spreads far and wide, and the world is convinced.
For example, the Yongle Dynasty donated lions to the Western Regions, acquired giraffes (Qilin, and Japan still calls giraffes Qilin to this day) from Africa, and acquired cheetahs and golden leopards from the Timurid Empire, Iran and other places.
Just like the state of the country, after Xuande, the animal gardens could only raise native leopards (lynx).
Therefore, the Leopard Room of Zhengde is a bit arrogant at best, but in fact it is the tradition of the Ming Dynasty emperors.
Moreover, leopards in the Ming Dynasty were not used for viewing, but for hunting, commonly known as "leopard hunting".
Zhu Yixi wants to build a zoo. In addition to saving money, the biggest benefit is to gain a good reputation.
Originally it was used for one's own enjoyment, but if it was made public for the people to watch, that would be enjoying it with the people, and its reputation would be very different.
The entire inner court has been busy for a long time in preparing to build a zoo and moving the jackals, tigers and leopards outside the city.
However, the imperial court was running in an orderly manner.
Time flies and it’s winter solstice again.
This time the imperial meeting was as lively and lively as ever.
However, for the royal family, it is even more special.
Because as expected, King Qin will be in the country from now on, and it will be difficult to come over often. For a while, the family banquet was a bit sad.
However, the presence of a group of little guys made the scene particularly noisy.
From the time he married his wife to the present, sixteen years have passed, and Zhu Yixi is worthy of being a time traveler. His descendants have been more prosperous than those of previous emperors in the past three hundred years.
Among them, there were twenty-eight princes and eighteen princesses, so that three or four tables were filled, how could it not be lively.
The mixed-blood emperor's twenty-eighth son has attracted a lot of people's interest. His appearance is fairer and tender, and his facial features are exquisite, making him rare.
The prince has been established and the vassal king has entered the country. If these two rules are established, the harem will be extremely harmonious.
There are too many princes and princesses, so it seems that there are too few concubines.
There are only about 30 people, but there are quite a lot of people giving birth to second and third children.
For example, the queen has two sons and one daughter, and the imperial concubine Miaoxian also has one son and two daughters.
Zhu Yixi sat in the main seat and was very happy: "There are many heirs, which is a sign of prosperity."