In the end, Qi Ziming couldn't help but smiled bitterly and lowered his voice and said: "Brother Xuanling, don't you and I still know these things? Now the imperial court is controlled by a wealthy family. Even if His Majesty forces you to open courses to obtain scholars, there are only two hundred places in total. East Palace and
The eldest prince will decide a portion internally, and the dozen or so wealthy families in the ranking will allocate a few. The high officials in the court will entrust a few, and those with huge wealth in their families will buy a few. Small families like ours who come from out of town will buy a few.
We may be famous locally, and we are somewhat famous in our hometown, but in the whole Sui Dynasty, and even in this capital city, what does it mean?"
Having said this, he sighed, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and then said: "Alas! Even if the imperial court wants to find a few talented people to serve as foils to block the silence of the world's scholars, there are still many
Choose the famous people in the capital who have already worshiped the nobles in the capital, such as Xu Jingzong, who has been so arrogant these days that he will be in the top three, so it is not our turn."
There was another scholar at the wine table. His body was a little thin and his eyes were cold. He might have drank too much, and there was a depression in his chest that he could not express, so he spoke very boldly and sneered: "Yes, I also think that Brother Xuanling is thinking.
That's too naive. Brother Ziming is right. I think it's better not to take the imperial examination again in the future, lest we have to waste so much money on travel expenses. What a bullshit test. It's just that those wealthy families have changed it to a better-looking way.
Just let your own family become officials, even if they are not from a wealthy family, they are just choosing dogs for themselves!"
Zi Ming's face darkened, then he was slightly frightened, and advised: "Brother Yun Qi, please lower your voice. If the spies of the Hou Guan Mansion hear it, I am afraid that I will lose my life if I don't talk about whether you and I can become officials."
I’m going to stay in the capital.”
That Yun Qi's brother's surname was Wei, who was from around the capital. He was also famous as a talented person in the capital, but his personality was completely different from that of Xu Jingzong. Because he was careless and harsh in his words, no high-ranking official was willing to recruit him as an aide or guest minister.
, so I have always been a little lonely. At this time, listening to my friend's worried words, I couldn't help laughing and said: "How can those secret agents in the Hou Guan Mansion look down on little people like you and me? If they are really good, why don't they just watch the exams in the examination room and let them
Are exams more fair?"
Fang Qiao shook his head, sighed and said: "Strange to say, it seems that no one from the Hou Guanfu was used for the examination supervision and security matters this time."
Wei Yunqi waved his fingers and said: "You didn't notice that the people who moved were all the palace servants and the guards of the palace, which shows that the current emperor suspects that the Hou Guanfu has colluded with those noble families."
Fang Qiao glanced at the two friends he had met for more than a month, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I think with the Marquis of Qin An in charge of supervising this matter, there should be a chance for us, poor men, to come."
The two friends next to him naturally knew that Fang Qiao was found out by Qin Anhou with clothes in his clothes, so they couldn't help but joked in unison: "Although he allowed you to take the exam, he may not be able to help us. After all, although he
It’s powerful, but it has no foundation in the Sui Dynasty. How can it compete head-on with all the powerful families?”
The three of them chatted and joked for a while, and as they drank more and more, they inevitably started to curse in a low voice that the powerful families controlled almost all the official positions in the court. They felt in their hearts that they wanted to make the imperial examination fair so that poor people could really have a chance to become officials.
In order for the court to be effective, I am afraid that we must first solve the problem of powerful families controlling the government.
…
…
In autumn, it rains a lot in Beijing.
Autumn rain is rarely a gentle drizzle; it is not like cow hair, pine leaves, or string beads. It is mostly a downpour. After each autumn rain, the weather becomes cooler and cooler.
The rain fell down like bullets and landed on the ground, making a ticking sound, driving away all the heat and dust, bringing a cooler world.
The rain has stopped, and there is still some moisture in the air. Birds are flying low: the music on the awning has also stopped, only some raindrops fall from it from time to time, and the roar of the gods can be heard in the sky, as well as the sound of thunder.
I did it again and again, but it didn't stop for a long time.
But the terrifying thunder did not affect people's emotions. On the contrary, more people came out for a walk today than before. Because today is the day when the results of the first scientific examination of the Sui Dynasty were released.
There is a stone arch bridge to the west of the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites. If you want to see the examination results under the red wall, you have to cross the bridge. At this time, the candidates wearing long gowns are already crowded under the red wall, and they are nervously searching on the big yellow paper.
with his own name.
It is said that 'the palace examination determines the winner, and the general examination determines who will stay'. To put it in the extreme, the status of the last place in the general examination is the same as the first place. If you want to distinguish the winner, it should be decided in the palace examination. Say yes
In this way, for Xu Jingzong, he still cares about the ranking in the general examination. In his opinion, he must be in the top three in the general examination, and it is best to get the first place.
Early in the morning, Xu Jingzong took a carriage and drove to the Rites Yamen. The closer he got to the Rites Yamen, the more pedestrians were on the street. When he arrived at the test release place outside the Rites Yamen, there was already a sea of people there.
Xu Jingzong heard that as early as the fourth watch, scholars came to sit and wait to see the results. In fact, there were quite a few such people, and they all wanted to be the first to see their names. There were more than 3,000 scholars.
Looking up, together with people sent by various forces, relatives and friends of various scholars, and more people watching the excitement, the more than 20 paces wide street in front of the Rites Yamen Gate was blocked by cars, horses and pedestrians.
"How... how to get in?" Xu Jingzong frowned slightly.
"Master Xu, wait a moment, let me come here!"
Following Xu Jingzong, two tall and round-shouldered guards from the East Palace stood up.
Both of them were veterans who had retired from the government army, and they both had great strength. They squeezed through the crowd, just like a chariot rolling over the grassland, passing through the grass. Those who stood in front, whether they were scholars or others,
They were all squeezed out of the way.
After someone was pushed aside, he turned around and was about to reprimand, but when he saw the red uniforms worn by the two strong men, he immediately stopped. Although the clothing regulations of the Sui Dynasty were not as strict as those of the Song and Ming dynasties, the servants and guards dared to
Those who wear red uniforms are usually princes, ministers, or top nobles.
After getting off his horse, Xu Jingzong made his way to the golden list without any hindrance. Six large golden lists were posted on the wall, with densely packed names and place of origin occupying most of the paper space.
The first thing that caught my eye was Li Xiyu, the top candidate in the Rites Examination.
Xu Jingzong knew that this person was from the deposed prince's side. He was as famous as him in the capital. The most important thing was that his family background was much better than his. It was reasonable for Gao Ying to let him take the first place.
Although Xu Jingzong was thinking this, his face became a little gloomy. When he saw that his name was not in the second or third place, his face became extremely gloomy.
And this is just the beginning.
His name was not among the top ten, and his face turned livid.
His name was not among the first hundred, and anger burst out in his eyes.
After reading the entire list and not finding his name, Xu Jingzong felt so angry that he would have cursed on the spot if he had not been rational. However, he was already on the verge of breaking out, and perhaps there was only one fuse left. .
Soon, this fuse appeared.
"Isn't that Xu Jingzong? Doesn't he show off everywhere that he will definitely go to high school and be in the top three? Why didn't I see his name?"
"Yeah! I didn't see it either. Look at his arrogant look two days ago."
"Some people are just self-righteous and don't know how much they weigh."
"Yes, I think he is a fool who overestimates his capabilities..."
Because of Xu Jingzong's character, and because Wang Junlin secretly asked Shen Guang to arrange people to add fuel to the flames, Xu Jingzong's reputation has already spread. When everyone hears that this person is Xu Jingzong, no matter what the psychology, ridicule, and ridicule are It continues one after another and becomes more and more intense.
These discussions were clearly heard in Xu Jingzong's ears. For Xu Jingzong, who had always been conceited, they were like slaps in the face again and again. They were extremely humiliating and added fuel to the fire.
In addition, during this process, several scholars nearby who were looking at the list crowded over. One of them pretended to bump into him accidentally and apologized to him, but Xu Jingzong ignored him, and the scholar ran aside to look at his list. However, what no one noticed was that at the crowded moment, Xu Jingzong felt as if he had been pricked by a needle on the back of his neck, but the pain passed away in a flash, and Xu Jingzong's mind was filled with incredible anger and hatred. Doubts about the fairness of this imperial examination were not taken to heart at all.
After four or five breaths, in front of everyone, Xu Jingzong suddenly looked up to the sky and shouted: "This is impossible. It is impossible for me, Xu Jingzong, to be in high school. Someone must be engaging in malpractice for personal gain..."
Pfft! Before Xu Jingzong finished speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted. His attendants and guards rushed forward in a panic and carried him away to find someone to treat him.
"Hahahaha... Xu found it difficult to accept this phenomenon and was so angry that he vomited blood." Someone said loudly, and everyone around him agreed.
This scene was witnessed by hundreds of people at the scene, and what he said was heard by thousands of people. Among them were Fang Qiao, Liu Ziming, and Wei Yunqi who had just crossed the stone arch bridge.
There were still rain stains left on the ground, and the moss between the stone bricks looked particularly slippery. As the three of them walked that way, Liu Ziming almost slipped and fell, causing everyone to laugh. Liu Ziming laughed at himself, although he was so naive. Zuo looked normal, but how could he not be nervous deep down inside.
Arriving under the red wall, the three of them finally squeezed into the crowd. Starting from the left hand side, they looked for who knows how long. Suddenly, they heard Liu Ziming shouting happily: "Brother Wei, Brother Wei! You've won! You've won." Got it!"
Fang Qiao and Wei Yunqi listened to the sound and rushed to Liu Ziming's side. Sure enough, they saw Wei Yunqi's name written clearly in the fifth row above their heads. They couldn't help but get excited. Fang Qiao gently hit Wei Yunqi's shoulder with a smile on his face. Fist to express congratulations.