The emperor was the examiner of the palace examination. He could select whoever he wanted to be the top scholar. This was the power given to Zhu Houzhao by law and etiquette.
The only thing Zhu Houzhao did wrong was that he should not have opened the paper to see the names, which was extremely unfair to other candidates.
But strictly speaking, the top three papers should not be opened.
If the monarch and his ministers all abide by the etiquette system, then the normal procedure should be as follows: the emperor will select the number one, number two, and top prize on the sealed paper according to the quality of the article. The ministers return to the East Pavilion, open the second and third grade Jinshi papers and fill in the gold list.
The next day, the second and third grade scholars were submitted to the emperor for inspection. After receiving the emperor's approval, the examination papers for the top three were opened and the vacant title of grade one was filled in.
However, from the time of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, they took the lead in destroying the procedures of opening papers and filling in exams. They always had to open the A-A test papers in advance to read the names.
After more than a hundred years, the ministers have become accustomed to it. When asking the emperor to rank the top pick, they often take it apart and show it to the emperor. Anyway, the ranking will basically not change again, and it is harmless.
This is a confusing account, and it is impossible to tell who is breaking the rules.
If the minister dared to accuse Zhu Houzhao of opening the rolls without authorization, Zhu Houzhao could also accuse the minister of opening the rolls without authorization. It was a matter of dog biting dog.
The next morning, Huagai Palace.
Cabinet officials gathered here, everyone was beaming and seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness of last night.
Zhu Houzhao and his cabinet ministers were waiting in the palace, while the eunuch and eunuch, the chief ceremonial officer, ran to the imperial palace, filled in the names of the first-level Jinshis on the gold list, and began to write the biography.
When the gold list was returned from the royal palace, the officials of Shangbao Division glanced at it and then asked the emperor to stamp it with great respect.
Immediately, Liang Chu, a scholar of Wuying Palace, held the gold medal and went to Fengtian Palace to hand it over to Fei Hong, the Minister of Rites.
Fei Hong is the chief planner of this year's general examination and the palace examination. He is also an important minister in the cabinet. The Minister of Rites is just a part-time job in name. But the real Minister of Rites, Bai Yue, died in office three months ago, and the affairs of the Ministry of Rites were handed over to Fei Hong.
manage.
"Bachelor Fei, please take the list." Liang Chu handed it over with both hands.
Fei Hong held it with both hands and bent down to return the gift to Liang Chu: "Sister Liang, thank you for your work."
Liang Chu stood still and refused to move.
Fei Hong was a little strange, so he opened the gold list and was a little surprised to see Wang Yuan at the top of the list.
Liang Chu asked: "Does Academician Fei know about the number one scholar?"
The news that Wang Yuan was favored to be the top candidate had already spread to a small extent last night. However, the Ministry of Rites is the organizer of the imperial examination. Due to the principle of avoidance, officials from the Ministry of Rites are not allowed to interfere with the invigilation, marking and selection of examinations. Fei Hong is not following the system at all.
Listen to the gossip.
Fei Hong smiled and said: "Your Majesty will point out the number one scholar, so as a minister, why should I talk too much?"
Liang Chu smiled bitterly and said, "That's true."
Fei Hong's entry into the cabinet was strongly recommended by Yang Tinghe, but he and Yang Tinghe were not of the same mind, or in other words, they were not of the same mind as anyone.
This gentleman was the first to take the imperial examination at the age of thirteen, was awarded the title of Yuan in the Jiangxi Provincial Examination at the age of sixteen, was selected as the number one scholar in the Imperial Examination at the age of twenty, became a cabinet minister at the age of forty-one, and is now only forty-four.
Fei Hong was usually calm, upright and peaceful, just like the Bodhisattva statue in the temple, but he could stand up and take charge at critical moments. In history, when Wang Yangming quelled the rebellion of King Ning, Fei Hong, who had been dismissed from office, was at his side to give advice.
Do you think this is a gentleman?
Zheng Xiao, an important minister of the Jiajing Dynasty, commented on Fei Hong: "Among the few princes, Hong is the lowest. Although he is talented, his heart is dangerous."
This is a real old Yin comparison. In terms of political means and political vision, Yang Tinghe is not worthy of carrying his shoes. He was originally very close to Yang Tinghe, but during the Jiajing ceremony, he just waited and watched what happened. As soon as Yang Tinghe stepped down, Fei
Hongjiu was promoted to the chief minister of the cabinet and became the biggest winner in the Dali Conference incident.
Moreover, this person seems gentle and respectful, but in fact he is very vindictive.
He originally had a close relationship with Wang Yangming, and they worked together to quell Prince Ning's rebellion. However, because they belonged to different factions, Wang Yangming did not follow Fei Hong's suggestion and chose to escort Prince Ning to the eunuch Zhang Yong. The two parties immediately turned from friends to enemies. After Yang Tinghe stepped down,
Wang Yangming still couldn't stand up, and the key was Fei Hong's suppression.
It was not until Fei Hong stepped down that Wang Yangming could finally resume his official duties.
The emperor selected Wang Yuan as the number one scholar?
It’s none of my business, Fei Hong!
Even if Wang Yuan really wants to engage in some kind of arrears, Fei Hong will not directly oppose it. He will only take action when the overall situation has been decided.
Watching Liang Chu go away, Fei Hongyun was calm and still had a smile on his face.
…
Wang Yuan and other scholars have been waiting outside Fengtian Hall for a long time.
At this moment, the scholars all changed into Jinshi robes.
Wang Yuan wears a dark blue Luo robe with green Luo trim and wide cuffs. He wears a black horn leather belt around his waist, black short boots on his feet, and a Jinshi scarf on his head. The Jinshi scarf is similar to the official hat of the Song Dynasty, but the wings are not as long.
There are also black gauze hanging straps tied at both ends of the hat wings.
After putting on this outfit, all the scholars became energetic. Unfortunately, it will be returned to the Imperial College in two days, leaving it for the next generation of scholars to continue wearing.
The imperial court is very stingy, so it would be great to give it to a new scholar to take home and treasure.
But who asked Zhu Yuanzhang to practice frugality? This is also a manifestation of frugality.
Over at the Huagai Hall, the officials of Honglu Temple had already received the notice and asked the emperor to move to Fengtian Hall. For a while, the music was blaring, and the conductor led Zhu Houzhao to Fengtian Hall to ascend his throne.
Ritual and music, if there are rituals, there will be happiness.
Today's ceremony is only used for the emperor's enthronement, wedding, longevity, and triumph, and the music standards are of the highest level.
All the civil and military officials and scholars entered the hall one by one. After the music stopped, the preface officials held up the gold medal in praise. Wang Yuan and other scholars all knelt down and bowed four times. Then they went out from the east gate of the hall and stood collectively facing the west outside Danbi.
The official holding the golden list came to the royal road and shouted: "Everyone, listen to the rules!"
Wang Yuan could only kneel down again and wait to hear the emperor's edict.
The official read: "By God's blessing, the emperor said... On March 15, the sixth year of Zhengde, he planned to test the world... The first one was awarded Jinshi and the rank, the second was awarded Jinshi's background, and the third was awarded
Born with the same Jinshi..."
After the announcement was completed, the announcer finally began to serve the main course and called out at the top of his voice: "First place, first place, Wang Yuan!"
"First place, first place, Wang Yuan!"
"First place, first place, Wang Yuan!"
From the main hall to the steps, the palace guards sang in unison, one group singing and then another.
Wang Yuan's expression was a little confused, the other scholars were also extremely surprised, and Jin Lei was even more stunned, thinking that his ears had heard wrongly.
An official from the preface class walked up to Wang Yuan and said with a smile: "The number one scholar, please take the lead."
Wang Yuan immediately stood up, followed the man a few steps forward, and knelt at Danbi's head.
The official Chuan Lu sang again:
"First place, second place, Yang Shen!"
"First place, third place, Yu Ben!"
Yang Shen's face was expressionless, neither sad nor happy. He knew the result last night.
Yu Ben couldn't believe it. He only ranked 192nd in the general examination, but he was actually ranked third in the palace examination.
Zou Shouyi, who came first in the examination, was a little disappointed, but his mood did not fluctuate much.
The second-place finisher and the third overall pick knelt in place, and only the top pick could come out. This is called "taking the top spot."
Wang Yuan is confused now and doesn't know why he became the number one scholar. His palace examination answer sheet was written randomly on a whim because the rebels were raging in the capital. He got an ordinary Jinshi, and then he was sent out to work.
Magistrate, this is what Wang Yuan really thinks. He is not willing to enter the Hanlin Academy and become a capital official.
Wang Yuan is an engineering student. Reading the Four Books and Five Classics has taken up a lot of his time. He can't wait to go somewhere to work in his old profession.
"Third A, Seventy-three, Golden Rei!"
Jin Lei had been waiting in a panic for a long time, and he couldn't read his name until now. He was almost crying without tears. He was the twenty-eighth in the exam, and now he only had the same Jinshi background. The difference between him and his was too obvious.
After the three songs are sung, Jinshi bows four times.
The deacon held the gold medal and went out from the left gate of Fengtian, and hung the gold medal outside the left gate of Chang'an. The Jinshi followed closely behind, and there were umbrellas and drum music in front of them to clear the way, and they had already left the imperial city in a daze.
"Master Zhuangyuan, please." Yang Dan, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, had no expression on his face.
Wang Yuan cupped his fists and returned the salute: "Thank you so much, Mr. Fu."
The number one scholar received special treatment. Not only did he win the first place in the imperial examination, but he was also required to personally escort Wang Yuan back to his residence with the umbrella ceremony held by Shuntian Prefecture Yin.
Wang Yuan rode on his horse and passed along the street. On both sides of the street were people from the capital watching the excitement.
A gold medal list has been posted outside the gate of Chang'an, and the name of the number one scholar has spread throughout the city. At this moment, the citizens are coming to see Wang Erlang's style as the number one scholar.
"Is that Wang Erlang who is killing thieves on his own?"
"You have both civil and military skills. You can kill thieves when you mount your horse, and you can win the first prize when you dismount."
"I heard that the great talent Yang Shencai should be the number one scholar, and this Wang Erlang is the emperor's mess."
"The emperor is really capable of doing such a thing, but Wang Erlang is not bad at being the number one scholar. As the elder of the pavilion, he will definitely not be afraid of rebelling and causing trouble in the capital."
"That's right, that's right. When Wang Erlang becomes the elder of the pavilion, the rebels may not even dare to enter Zhili."
"..."
News in the capital spreads so fast. What happened in the palace last night has now spread to the streets.
Yang Dan, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, couldn't help but said: "No. 1 Scholar, what do you really want to do?"
Wang Yuan smiled and asked: "Can the articles in the palace examination be taken seriously? Can the moral articles written by Yang Fuzun in Fengtian Palace be consistently followed after he became an official?"
"Of course I always stick to it!" Yang Dan said.
That's weird.
Yang Dan's great-grandfather Yang Rong was the chief minister of the cabinet in the early Ming Dynasty. Together with Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu, he was known as the "Three Yangs".
Yang Dan's brother-in-law, Yang Ye, went rampant in the countryside, killing the people and should be executed according to the law. However, this guy hid in his uncle's house in the capital. His uncle was the head of the Ministry of War, and his brother-in-law was the head of the Ministry of Rites. They bribed Yang Ye, a high-ranking official, to get away with it. In the end, Emperor Chenghua got away with it.
After personally interrogating, Wang Zhi sent people to arrest him, and directly took Yang Tai and his family of speculators, more than a hundred of them, to the capital for questioning.
At that time, not only was the Yang family in trouble, it also involved countless civil servants, which eventually turned into a dispute between eunuchs and civil servants, which directly led to the dismissal of Xichang by Emperor Chenghua.
This Yang Dan belongs to Yang Tinghe's party, so no wonder he doesn't have a good attitude towards Wang Yuan.
From the beginning to the end, the two of them only spoke two or three sentences, nothing more than a few words. But the people in the capital were crowding Wang Yuan all the way out of the city, and the innkeeper was putting up lanterns and decorations after hearing the news.