Huang Shang stood first, and the candidates behind him lined up in an orderly manner.
Not to mention that they have been through battles for a long time, a few days ago, there were also etiquette officials who specially taught them the etiquette when entering the palace to meet the holy people.
They all worked hard and didn't dare to make any mistakes.
Entering the palace from the Zuoye Gate, Huang Shang followed the pavilion envoy and moved forward at an unhurried pace.
It felt like he hadn't gone far before he arrived at the Jiying Palace. It was already dawn, and he happened to take a look at the layout of the palace.
To be honest, it's a bit shabby.
The utensils in the hall, the decorative curtains, and the paintings on the beams and pillars all give off an old-fashioned atmosphere, and it is obvious that they have not been repaired for many years.
This is also the place where the imperial examination is held. There are some palaces in the palace that have been abandoned for a long time, and I don’t know what they look like.
"Most of the emperors of the Song Dynasty were frugal, so what's the use?"
Huang Shang sighed in his heart.
Compared with those arrogant and lewd emperors, a simple and self-controlled emperor can naturally arouse people's favor.
But it's a pity that being a good emperor doesn't mean just being frugal...
Now is not the time to think too much. All the candidates stood in the hall and formed a square formation. Huang Shang was still leading the way, waiting for the arrival of the emperor.
It didn't take long. Although the emperor was already quite old, he obviously attached great importance to the imperial examination. Almost a quarter of an hour later, a series of footsteps could be heard.
Huang Shang did not raise his head to look around, but waited silently. He did not start to salute until the emperor was in place and the ceremonial officer gave the order.
After the ceremony, you can see the emperor in the palace.
Since Huang Shang stood at the front and could see the most clearly, a skinny old man came into view.
Renzong Zhao Zhen was actually not very old, he was only fifty-four years old this year, but whether it was because he was devoting himself to being the emperor or because he was worried about not having a biological son, he looked much older, close to the age of seventy in later generations.
His eyes were very gentle, which was in line with later generations' evaluation of this person.
This is the emperor with the best temper.
Huang Shang glanced casually and saw several people standing below.
The most outstanding one among them is an old man with the same thin appearance. This is Prime Minister Han Qi.
He is two years older than Song Renzong, but his energy is much better, and he can obviously live for many years.
At this time, Han Qi was also looking at Huang Shang.
The two people's eyes fell into each other's eyes. It was just a single encounter. Not surprisingly, Huang Shang sensed that Han Qi was targeting him.
"Han Zhongyan has reported it to his father. The biggest obstacle to me becoming the leader of the Three Yuan Dynasties is this prime minister!"
Although Han Qi was a conservative die-hard and poor at military affairs, his ability to serve as an official cannot be denied.
If it were another high-ranking prime minister with overwhelming power, he might not be involved in the disputes between his children and grandchildren, but Han Qi would clear the obstacles in advance.
The little person now may grow into a towering tree in the future. What's more, Huang Shang is already destined to be a Jinshi. If he becomes the leader of the Three Yuan Dynasties and becomes famous all over the world, he will rise to the top. No one can take it lightly.
So since Huang Shang had a grudge with Han Zhongyan, Han Qi would suppress him at the appropriate time to prevent his rise.
When he is lost to everyone, whether he is beaten or pulled, it can be decided in one word.
This is the way for aristocratic families to survive.
As for Huang Shang’s resistance?
Hey, he’s just a scholar who has never gained any fame!
However, Han Qi never expected that after Huang Shang confirmed his malicious intentions, he activated the universal card in his body without hesitation. The prime minister's luck, which had previously accommodated Han Zhongyan and Cai Jing, was revealed and aimed at Han Qi.
Huang Shang has studied this method many times since he collected his luck, and it is the most superficial and wasteful use.
But it doesn't matter, no matter how rough it is, it just works.
Like right now.
This was a purely illusory level. In reality, there was not even a breeze, but Han Qi suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
"Did you catch the cold last night? Are you doing your old habit again?"
His throat twitched and he wanted to cough, but he endured it for the sake of dignity and etiquette.
Huang Shang didn't know exactly what would happen, but he knew that luck was a kind of mysterious luck. If Han Qi was affected, he would probably have bad luck today.
We don't expect what will happen to Han Qi. As long as the prime minister does not forcefully interfere with the results of the imperial examination, he is sure to win first place.
So he stopped paying attention to Han Qi and looked at the others.
Below Han Qi were other important officials and examiners of the day, among whom Fan Zhen, the examiner of the provincial examination, was among them.
Regarding Huang Shang, Fan Zhen smiled and showed appreciation.
Although Zhao Kuangyin added the palace examination and turned all the Jinshi into disciples of the emperor, there was still friendship between Zhi Gongju and all the Jinshi, and there would also be help in the officialdom in the future.
In addition to the officials, there was another person who caught Huang Shang's attention.
This man is the youngest among the old men who at least know their destiny.
But his mental outlook is the worst, his shoulders are slightly hunched, and he has a submissive and cautious look.
"Prince?"
There is no doubt that he is the adopted son of Zhao Zhen, who was established as the prince just last year and will be the future Yingzong Zhao Shu.
Huang Shang knew that the three elders Xiaoyao had not left the capital, but had found another hiding place, which was even closer to the imperial city.
Assassination of the prince is probably inevitable.
But time can be controlled artificially.
With a thought in Huang Shang's mind, the power of luck came out again, and this time it disappeared into the prince's body.
Unlike Han Qi, Zhao Shu perked up and straightened his waist slightly, but then he realized something and deliberately bent down.
After this, the two fortunes of prime minister obtained from Han Zhongyan and Cai Jing were also exhausted.
Huang Shang has no regrets about this.
Even if he wanted to become prime minister, he wouldn't rely on this quick success.
In comparison, it is even more important to ensure that the goals at this stage are not interfered with.
It’s a long story, but in fact Huang Shang just glanced at it and continued to take the lead in performing a series of etiquettes before the candidates began to take their seats.
The chamberlains stepped forward to guide him and quickly took their places, and then Fan Zhen personally read Renzong's title.
It was written in hundreds of words, which sounded complicated, but the people present were all elites who had experienced the big waves, and they quickly understood the essence of the topic.
Gover the place and speak out boldly.
Obviously, the four hundred people present will all become officials in the future, and may even be in charge of a political party.
Now, it's time for you to express your opinions.
This kind of question looks good, but is actually very mediocre.
Again, the scholars present are well-educated and their poetry and songs are first-rate, but when it comes to major national affairs, how many of them can come up with practical plans?
When I actually write it down, it’s actually just four words.
Figure out the holy will!
The article needs to be literary and profound, but it must not go against the emperor's wishes.
For example, Wang Anshi is a typical negative example.
Wang Anshi took part in the imperial examination more than 20 years ago, and wrote words to teach the emperor a lesson on the imperial examination paper. As a result, Zhao Zhen demoted him to fourth place with a stroke of his pen.
Look, fourth place obviously means you can't be among the top three.
With Wang Anshi's talent, he is really the number one pick!
You are playing with fire, and you are done with it...
Now that Wang Anshi's mother died of illness, he resigned and went back to Jiangning to observe the funeral. He is no longer in the court, but this negative example always reminds the scholars behind him not to seek death.
Huang Shang naturally would not offend Nahun. He held the Zhuge pen and began to write quickly.
This is not to show off, but I already have a draft in my mind.
It's interesting to say that in the past, once a good article was written about Chinese composition, any similar topic would be copied to it.
It still is.
Anyway, unless it really went off the topic a thousand miles away, Huang Shang made up his mind to go to Guangdong and Guangxi.
In the provincial examination, he still retained part of it, and this time he simply used some of the farmland water conservancy knowledge that later generations knew.
The scholars were writing furiously, and Zhao Zhen in the palace looked at them gently.
It seems that most of it falls on Huang Shang.
It's not that Huang Shang is handsome, it's mainly because he's old and his eyesight is dim and he can't see behind him.
Sitting in the front row, Huang Shang, the youngest, is naturally the most eye-catching.
Zhao Zhen slowly nodded his chin and asked, "Is he Yongzhou Huang Shang?"
Immediately, an official came forward and softly described Huang Shang's actions in detail, including how he scolded the traitors and rescued the soldiers in front of Yongzhou Gongyuan.
Fan Zhen also reported that there was an earthquake in the Imperial College, and Huang Shang remained calm despite the danger. He completed the provincial examination in no hurry and handed in the paper at the end. He recited it again for fear that Zhao Zhen's memory would fade and he would not be able to remember it.
All the previous accumulations are gathered in this scene.
As expected, Zhao Zhen nodded much louder: "Be consistent in words and deeds, good! Good!"
Han Qi saw it, but wanted to say something.
But when he opened his mouth, his throat felt itchy, and he quickly swallowed it back. He felt relieved and his face turned a little blue.
Asking the ministers was just a sideshow. Zhao Zhen was old after all. After watching for half an hour, he went to the back hall to rest.
After another hour, candidates have already started handing in papers.
No one dares to make the emperor wait.
Before noon, all the candidates had handed in their test papers, and it was time for corrections.
But this time, Fan Zhen is no longer the examiner. After all, preconceptions can easily affect judgment. A group of examiners have been replaced to ensure fairness and rigor.
When the examiner took his seat, Han Qi made a slight gesture with his eyes and immediately understood.
The process is still the same, the only difference is that the correction results must be submitted to the emperor for review.
This review will change the final ranking.
This change took only one afternoon.
At dinner time, Zhao Zhen gave wine and food to the candidates waiting in the hall.
The meal began in the front hall, and in the back hall, the ranking results of the corrections, together with the original test papers, were presented to Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen first looked at the rankings.
Xu Jiang, Huang Shang, Chen Xuan.
These three people are the top three determined by the examiners.
Zhao Zhen saw Huang Shang's name and nodded again, starting from the third place.
The writing is outstanding, but the content is a bit empty, but it is remarkable that a scholar who is the best among the shortest and has no official experience can have such insight.
Then, he started to read Huang Shang's test paper.
After just one glance, Zhao Zhen's eyes were bright. He felt that his eyesight was no longer blurry, his waist was no longer sore, and his legs were no longer cramped. He praised: "Zhuangya Chongyi is so pure and upright. The Sanguan regular script can have such attainments."
, unprecedented, unprecedented!”
The emperors of the Song Dynasty all had very high attainments in calligraphy. Zhao Zhen had been the emperor for more than forty years and had gone through more than ten imperial examinations. I have never seen a talented scholar who could write the regular script of the three halls specially used for the examination.
This is the first time it has been written like this.
In fact, this is the area where Wenqi is best at.
The words that give spiritual energy are not found in other fields of cultivation.
That is to say, the imperial examination must be copied, otherwise Huang Shang can get extra points by just relying on this handwriting, and there is no need to prepare so much.
At this time, Zhao Zhen read the test paper carefully and found that the content was much better than Chen Xuan. The words were meaningful and some of the thoughts were thought-provoking. It was obvious that he had conducted detailed investigations and he immediately liked it even more.
He looked at the test paper and refused to put it down. He read it over and over again.
Seeing the urgency, Han Qi winked at the examiner next to him. The man coughed slightly. Only then did Zhao Zhen suddenly realize that he could not favor one over the other, so he reluctantly put down the test paper.
This time I picked up the first place, Xu Jiang, and looked at the test paper again. I don’t know why, but the regular Sanguan regular script felt a bit unbearable to look at.
However, Zhao Zhen also read the test paper carefully and found that although Xu Jiang's level was high, he was indeed not as good as Huang Shang.
But soon after thinking about it, Zhao Zhen understood.
If Huang Shang was not Jieyuan or Shengyuan, with the standard of his test paper, there would be no problem in ranking first in the imperial examination.
It is precisely because he was ranked first two times before and won three more times in a row that the requirements were higher, so he was ranked second.
Zhao Zhen didn't hesitate and directly raised the ink pen.
As soon as the emperor moved, Han Qi knew that he wanted to change his rank, so he hurriedly stepped forward to speak freely.
However, maybe he had held it in too hard before, but this time when he opened his mouth, a series of coughs almost burst out and he couldn't stop.
Zhao Zhen was startled by the violent coughing. Seeing Han Qi's waist bent, he asked with concern: "Has Han Qing's old illness relapsed?"
He glanced at Prince Zhao Shu and said, "Dalang, please send Han Qing back to his residence and send the imperial doctor to treat him!"
Zhao Shu cupped his hands: "Yes!"
He didn't have the airs of a prince at all, he personally supported Han Qi and walked out of the palace.
Normally, Han Qi would be very happy to see the prince being so close to him.
This is the key to continuing the glory of the family.
But at this moment, he thought that when he got up in the morning, he was just slightly uncomfortable, but the most critical palace examination was so serious that he couldn't even speak well. When he looked at the young and tall figure in the front hall, his face suddenly turned gray.
He murmured to himself: "Could it be that Wen Quxing is really..."
In the back hall, no one was blocking him anymore. Zhao Zhen took out a pen and erased the "two" on the corner of Huang Shang's test paper and replaced it with a "one".