It will take some time for Yan Shenggong to come to Beijing. After all, he is too fragile and expensive to travel long distances. What's more, he has to meet many literati from various places along the way to build up momentum to protect himself.
The capital was not in a hurry. The imperial examination was about to begin. Zhu Yuanzhang was also in a good mood. He had gone from a begging monk to being one of the people who judged the world's scholars. The feeling was indescribable.
Zhu Biao walked into Zhongshu Province on this day. It was much quieter here now. Hu Weiyong hid his edge and calmed down. Yang Xian was proud of the spring breeze. Most of the things in Zhongshu Province were now under Yang Xian's control. Li Shanchang was even more troubled because of Mencius's affairs.
torment.
After all, he was the prime minister of the dynasty, and it was his fault for not advising the emperor well. However, Li Shanchang never cared about this. He was not a filial son and grandson of Confucius, but this also gave him a good reason to stay behind closed doors and play chess and scores at home every day.
Not happy?
Li Shanchang was already an extremely popular minister, and it could be said that there was no room for advancement. Although he was reluctant to part with the power in his hands, he had no choice but to let go for the sake of the wealth of his descendants. Thinking of this made him feel a lot more relaxed.
When Zhu Biao stepped into Zhongshu Province, everyone inside saluted. Zhu Biao nodded and walked straight over, all the way to the room where Li Shanchang handled official business.
Zhu Biao came here specifically to ask one person, and he discovered that there was a foreigner participating in the Enke exam, and he was from Korea, but his level was average and he ranked at the bottom.
Zhu Biao naturally wouldn't look at the list at the end. Liu Jin only found out this after telling him it as an interesting fact. He didn't care who Jin Tao was, but whoever could study abroad must be an outstanding descendant of the famous Korean family.
If a situation could be opened directly, it would undoubtedly make things smoother for Jiang Side and Yao Guangxiao, so Zhu Biao was going to let Li Shanchang make arrangements.
Zhu Biao asked him to send the person to the East Palace tomorrow, and Li Shanchang naturally agreed. Then the two of them were polite for a while, and Zhu Biao got up and returned to the East Palace.
His wedding was also scheduled. Just eight days later, that is, the sixth day after the imperial examination, Zhu Yuanzhang had sent officials from the Ministry of Rites to worship his ancestors at the Taimiao Temple and Fengyang's hometown and inform them of the good news.
Then he gave a gift of nine carriages from the Kaiping Palace to show his favor. Chang Yuchun went to the Imperial Study Room to express his gratitude, while Chang Mao came to the East Palace to present some clothes made by Chang Luohua himself.
The entire inner court and the Ministry of Etiquette are very busy now. Fortunately, Zhu Biao doesn't have to worry about it. Everything is handled by specialized personnel.
The next day, Zhu Biao first asked Liu Jin to bring monk Dao Yan into the East Palace. The two talked for a while. Dao Yan's eyes lit up when he heard about Jin Tao's presence. Everything is difficult at the beginning. How can it be so easy when you arrive in Goryeo and you are not familiar with the place?
Open up the situation.
Jin Tao walked in after a while, and first kowtowed to Zhu Biao and said, "Jin Tao, a student from Korea, is here to see His Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty. His Highness Qianqiu."
This man's Mandarin was very good. Zhu Biao smiled and said: "Get up. You came all the way from another country and still passed the Gongsheng examination. I was particularly moved after hearing this, so I specially summoned you."
Jin Tao bowed and said: "The Ming Dynasty has numerous talents with Tianbao, but students who are not good at academics only pass the exam, which is very shameful."
Zhu Biao naturally said a few words of comfort with purpose, and Jin Tao was also moved. What kind of identity was Zhu Biao? His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, the King of Korea, who always bowed to him when he saw him, actually treated him so kindly.
Zhu Biao casually asked about his family background. Jin Tao, who had a low self-esteem, quickly explained all eight generations of his ancestors. Zhu Biao could only say that this guy is the Goryeo version of Yuan Shu, with four generations and three sons in his family, and disciples and former officials all over the country.
.
Zhu Biao smiled with satisfaction, and Dao Yan on the side lowered his head and recited a few Buddhist chants. This was really a meat pie falling from the sky.
Of course, these two people also saw that what Jin Tao said was a bit untrue. Monk Xin Meng is now in charge of Goryeo, and he is targeting the wealthy families, so the Jin family of the fourth generation and the three princes must be the target of strong suppression, otherwise Jin Tao
I won’t come to Daming for gold plating anymore.
It's hard to say too much about Zhu Biao's identity. Daoyan recited a Buddhist name and started talking to Jin Tao. Jin Tao also respected Daoyan very much. He knew very well what these bald donkeys were capable of.
After a while, Zhu Biao saw that the rhythm had been controlled by Dao Yan, so he picked up the tea cup and took a sip, but did not put it down. The two people below stood up and left, and Zhu Biao asked Liu Jin to send them off.
Zhu Biao stood up and moved around for a while. Liu Jin came back and reported: "Sir, Daoyan has invited Jin Tao to study Buddhist scriptures."
Zhu Biao nodded, and then didn't bother to care. Zhu Biao had given him so much foreshadowing. It would be very disappointing if Dao Yan still couldn't handle Gao Li.
Early the next morning, Zhu Biao got up and went to Fengtian Hall. The palace examination will be held today. Zhu Yuanzhang will select the new scholars of this year. All civil and military officials are also present. First, the Ministry of Rites presided over the etiquette of the candidates paying homage to the emperor.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang encouraged them with a few words, and then handed out the test papers. This time, Zhu Yuanzhang himself set the questions. The questions were based on the ancient emperors' respect for heaven and diligent people, and the way of rule and governance.
Then the eunuchs took them to the Jinshen Hall nearby and distributed pens, inks, paper and inkstones for them to write papers. Zhu Yuanzhang walked among them several times with great interest. Zhu Biao gave his father some pointers on the candidates for the examination.
Several.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Guo Chong, and he had already been vaccinated by Zhu Biao, but even so, Zhu Yuanzhang found it difficult to accept. Does the first imperial examination champion of the Ming Dynasty have to look like this...
Long before Enke, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically ordered all localities to recommend young scholars to take the exam in Beijing, hoping to choose a young and handsome scholar as a role model to inspire scholars all over the world.
He also thought that if the number one scholar was young, it would be good to marry a princess, but now looking at Guo Chong, Zhu Yuanzhang really couldn't bear to marry his lovely princess to him.
With the emperor on the side, these scholars were quite nervous. Zhu Biao thought it was almost done, so he asked Zhu Yuanzhang to wait in Fengtian Hall. Lao Zhu also meant the same thing. After meeting Guo Chong, he really couldn't cheer up.
The gap is relatively large.
Of course, there are also advantages to doing this, which shows that the imperial court focuses on talent and learning. As long as you are capable, even if you look like shit, you can still become the number one scholar in the world, be named on the gold list, parade through the streets on horseback, and reach the pinnacle of life.
After a while, the papers were all answered. Zhu Biao led the people to select the best twenty papers. The rest did not require the emperor to pass the test. In fact, the palace examination was very simple as long as the emperor did not act like a monster.
The approximate ranking will not be much different from the college entrance examination. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang still selected Guo Chong as the top scholar in the new subject of the Ming Dynasty. The second place was Wu Bozong, and the third place was Zhang Fan.
The ranking of the rest of the people needs to be arranged by the ministers, which can be completed tomorrow. The scholars have already bowed to the emperor and said goodbye. Those who participated in the palace examination are only ranked and not failed, so those who have no intention of becoming the number one scholar are not very nervous.