115 [The Difficulty Distinguishing People and Ghosts]
Zhou Chong led the horse and had been waiting outside Chengtian Gate for a long time. He found Wang Yuan among the crowd and immediately went up to him and said, "Second brother, Yaxing took me to see several houses, and there are two that I think are quite good."
, someday you take the time to choose it yourself."
"No need to look for a house." Wang Yuan was too lazy to ride a horse and just walked out of the city with Ah Hei in hand.
Zhou Chong said in surprise: "Then continue to stay in the inn?"
Wang Yuan explained: "The Ministry of Industry has arranged the house, and I only found out about it after the court was over."
"It's good to get the No. 1 Scholar exam, and the imperial court will give you a house. Are you afraid that many of them will enter the courtyard?" Zhou Chong was so happy that he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "You have a good idea. It would be nice to have a separate courtyard. I guess several people share a courtyard, which is similar to renting a house in Kunming. And the house was not given by the imperial court, but
Just live there temporarily."
Zhou Chong said disappointedly: "The imperial court is so stingy."
Not only the No. 1 scholar, No. 1 scholar, and No. 2 scholar, but also the Shu Jishi selected by the museum, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will help arrange accommodation. In addition, the Director of Ceremonies provides free paper, ink, pen and other cultural supplies every month, and Guanglu Temple provides free breakfast and dinner.
Money is given every month to buy candles.
To put it bluntly, it includes food, accommodation and daily expenses.
However, the legal meals were only two meals a day. After all, the emperor only had two meals a day. If he wanted to eat three meals, he had to spend his own money to buy one meal.
The money given by the Ministry of Rites for anointing candles is also very interesting. According to the system, you can receive three ingots of treasure money per month, and the official price is fifteen taels of silver. However, in actual operation, it is neither possible to give fifteen taels of silver to Hanlin officials every month to buy candles, nor
It's impossible to give out a wad of waste paper money every month - then just give out candles.
Zhou Chong asked again: "Do you want the maid and mother-in-law to buy it?"
Wang Yuan shook his head and said, "If I don't buy it, it's probably hard to find a stable for Ah Hei, let alone a place for the maid and mother-in-law."
After the new scholars went to the Confucian Temple to worship Confucius, Wang Yuan and Tanhua Yuben moved into the housing provided by the Ministry of Industry. As for Yang Shen, who was second in the list, of course he lived in his own home and did not have to squeeze into a dormitory with the hard-working Beipiao drifters.
In the following days, Wang Yuan and other Jinshi scholars were busy thanking the chief examiner, room master and industry master.
The examiner of the joint examination is Liu Zhong, the elder of the House. Of course, it is impossible for everyone to meet. The second and third place Jinshi can only express their respect by handing in a greeting card. It is considered honorable to have a cup of tea in Liu's living room.
Already.
However, Liu Zhong must meet him in person if he is a Jinshi.
Wang Yuan bowed to him and said: "Student Wang Yuan, I have met Liu Ge's department."
Liu Zhong smiled and helped him: "You don't need to be polite, just sit down."
Wang Yuan sat down and said: "Thanks to the appreciation of the cabinet, the student was lucky enough to pass the exam, and he will definitely live up to his support in the future."
Liu Zhongyi's enthusiasm was waning and he sighed and said: "I am against you being the number one scholar. As for how to act in the future, you can do it yourself. These have nothing to do with me. Even though Liu Jin has been eliminated, the number of people who cling to the eunuch party will not decrease, and you are so lucky.
If you enter the top prize, you are likely to be targeted by several forces."
Wang Yuan did not expect Liu Zhong to speak so directly, and was surprised: "From the tone of the cabinet minister, it seems that he plans to become an official?"
"We will leave in a few days," Liu Zhong said. "Wang Dehui (Wang Hua) and I have been friends for many years, and you are Wang Bo'an (Wang Yangming)'s disciple, so I just want to give you a few words before leaving the capital. I won't say anything about the situation.
Okay, please remember this. Among the people in the court, one is Qian Ning, the second is Zhang Yong, and the third is Yang Jiefu (Yang Tinghe). Qian Ning only wants money, and whoever stops him from making money is his enemy. Zhang Yong and Yang Jiefu
There is a tacit understanding of cooperation on big things, but there are constant disputes on small things. If you choose to rely on either party, there will be no problem. But if you want to be a lonely minister or a lucky minister, you will inevitably be besieged by these two people."
Liu Zhong just wanted to be a lonely minister, but ended up suffering from splints all day long.
Wang Yuan thought about it for a while and asked: "Where is Lord Xi Ya (Li Dongyang)?"
Liu Zhong immediately laughed and said: "He is a god. He has jumped out of the Three Realms and is not in the Five Elements. He doesn't care about many things. He is old and seriously ill. He only cares about his reputation after death."
Wang Yuan clasped his fists and expressed his thanks: "The kindness of the Ministry of Cabinet for giving advice will be unforgettable by the students."
Liu Zhong waved his hand, shook his head and sighed: "Well, I just want to say a few more words to you out of friendship with my old friend. Remember, you must either rely on Zhang Yong or Yang Jiefu. If you want to be a lone minister, you can follow Qian Ning
Come closer, but not too close. You are both civil and military, so you can go to the battlefield and make contributions as soon as possible, so that you can have your own foundation. That's all, let's go."
The host saw off the guests, and Wang Yuan could only say goodbye.
Liu Zhong's experiences in recent years were quite strange. He was thrown to Nanjing because he opposed Liu Jin. The "reverse eunuchs" felt that Liu Zhong was one of their own, so they promoted him to Nanjing's Minister of Rites, and then to Nanjing's Ministry of Personnel.
The other ministers who were thrown to Nanjing were all thinking about how to bring down Liu Jin, but Liu Zhong was doing his job. He didn't care who was an eunuch or a clean one. Anyway, as long as he was corrupt and violated the law, he would be punished, once and for all.
More than a thousand officials were identified. Following the official examination, Liu Zhong dealt with more than a thousand officials and suggested that officials should not wait until once every six years to rectify the administration of officials anytime and anywhere.
Well, this suggestion suited Liu Jin's taste and became a weapon for Liu Jin to eliminate political opponents. Countless civil servants were dismissed as a result, many of whom were framed and framed.
So Liu Zhong became an eunuch inexplicably, and was transferred back to the capital to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, and he also had the exclusive power to control imperial edicts.
Liu Zhong was afraid and asked to become an official, but the emperor refused.
When Liu Jin fell and civil servants gained power, Liu Zhong officially became an important cabinet minister as a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. Although he still served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he had lost control of the Ministry of Personnel. Who asked him to make a suggestion on the administration of officials, which led to the collapse of countless civil servants?
What about being imprisoned by Eunuch Liu?
After the eunuch Zhang Yong gained power, he knew that Liu Zhong was isolated in the civil service system, so he wanted to win over this important minister. The rebellion in Ningxia was put down, and it had nothing to do with Liu Zhong, but he added the young master and the crown prince Taifu, effectively becoming Zhang Yong's party
, the Qingliu people were even more hostile to Liu Zhong.
Liu Zhong had a hard time saying that he was forced to become an eunuch twice, but he didn't want to be eunuch in his heart, so he was so frightened that he asked to become an official again.
Not only did the emperor not allow it, but he also asked Liu Zhong to preside over this year's examination. Liu Zhong simply concentrated on being a lone minister. He deliberately publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with Zhang Yong, neither relying on eunuchs nor forming cliques with other civil servants.
Then he was miserable!
Just a few days ago, Yang Tinghe came to tell Liu Zhong in person that you did not do well in the examination this time. Many candidates were accepted despite their essays violating etiquette.
To put it mildly, it was actually Zhang Yong and Yang Tinghe who teamed up to force Liu Zhong to resign.
Liu Zhong once again requested to become an official, but the emperor still did not allow it. Zhu Houzhao needed such a lonely minister. But Liu Zhong had made up his mind this time. He was going to return to his hometown under the pretext of building his ancestral tomb, and then he would stay in his hometown. The emperor would definitely agree to it then.
He resigned.
It was precisely because he was disillusioned with the court and had decided to leave that Liu Zhong said those words to Wang Yuan.
Firstly, Wang Yuan was a disciple of his old friend's son, so he made a few remarks; secondly, Liu Zhong hoped that Wang Yuan would become a lone minister and inherit his mantle; thirdly, Wang Yuan's palace examination essay actually pleased Liu Zhong very much.
, he rated it third because he didn’t want Wang Yuan to be too ostentatious.
That's how officialdom is, it's hard to tell whether someone is a human being or a ghost.
Yang Yiqing, who rated Wang Yuan's article first-rate, was actually a member of Yang Tinghe's party. But Yang Yiqing, who rated Wang Yuan's article third-rate, was a true loner and truly considered Wang Yuan.
During the period when the court was selecting concubines, Liu Zhong went back to his hometown to repair his ancestral tombs. It was impossible for him to enter the court again in this life.
Wang Yuan went to thank Wang Yangming for his mentorship. When the master and apprentice talked about this, Wang Yangming couldn't help but sigh.
This is because Wang Yangming and Liu Zhong have very similar personalities. When serving as officials, they tend to focus on things rather than people, and are unwilling to stand on any side and rely on him. When Li Dongyang becomes an official, Wang Yangming loses the care of his boss, and he will probably follow Liu Zhong's footsteps.
"Do you want to be a lonely minister?" Wang Yangming asked.
Wang Yuan thought for a while and replied: "I want to be a minister of the country."
Wang Yangming laughed heartily and was very pleased.