As a new Jinshi, Wang Chengwei has been very prosperous these days.
If there is a normal imperial examination, the palace examination will be held after the results are released. The emperor will say a few words of encouragement and let the candidates take the civil service examination.
The selection examination will examine four items, namely appearance, character, handwriting and official document processing ability.
Candidates who pass the selection examination can be awarded official positions.
However, this time the imperial examination was different from the past, and in addition to the serious vacancies of official positions in the Tang Dynasty, the emperor ordered that officials be conferred directly after the imperial examination.
However, because the emperor is still on his way back to Luan Chang'an, the Qionglin Banquet that was supposed to be held after the imperial examination has not been held yet.
However, in the past few days, the new scholars have continued to entertain each other and keep in touch with each other while everyone is in Chang'an. Once they really enter the officialdom, it will be difficult for them to meet each other across the country.
Another characteristic of the Jinshi who have been in the second year of virtue is that they are not very old.
The number one scholar, Wang Chengwei, was twenty-two years old, and Gu Kuang and Wei Yingwu were only twenty-four or five years old.
The oldest one is only forty years old. Anyone who knows something about officialdom knows how valuable this subject is.
People who study in the same department have a very close relationship, which is naturally a political alliance.
At Wang Chengwei's suggestion, he hosted many banquets for fellow Jinshi scholars at Mingyue Tower, which even narrowed the distance between them.
Wang Chengwei spent a lot of money, and every banquet was filled with sumptuous food and wine. At first, he was a little unconvinced by him as the number one scholar, but after eating a few banquets with him, he was immediately convinced.
Today is another time when Wang Chengwei is hosting a banquet with his colleagues. More than thirty Jinshi have reserved the top floor of Mingyue Tower.
Preparing for such an ancient banquet is not an easy task. Fortunately, two colleagues, Wei Yingwu and Gu Kuang, helped.
Wei Yingwu was born in the Wei family in Gyeonggi Province. Although his family has declined, he is still a descendant of an aristocratic family and received a complete etiquette education.
He greets guests every time, and his etiquette is impeccable. Everyone is convinced by him as the third person.
Gu Kuang studied under Li Mi. Although Li Mi was not famous, he became an official during the emperor's period and served as an important minister. In the emperor's mouth, he was even called the commoner prime minister.
Gu Kuang followed Li Mi and treated everyone with courtesy and thoughtfulness, so every time he sent invitations, he asked Gu Kuang to send them out to summon everyone to the banquet.
New scholars gathered at Mingyue Tower every now and then, which became a hot topic in Chang'an.
Originally, Wang Chengwei was planning to invite candidates from other subjects to have a banquet, but as soon as he proposed it, Gu Kuang and Wei Yingwu jointly opposed it.
"The Jinshi major is the most expensive. If we hire someone from the Mingjing major, I'm afraid those in the same major will think we don't respect them."
"Mingjingke is also holding a banquet, so the number one scholar should not force himself to do it."
To sum up, what the two people mean is "Don't forcefully merge into different circles."
Wang Chengwei had no choice but to give up this idea. Each circle has its own rules, and players like Wang Chengwei are not strong enough to break Chang'an's rules.
Let’s wait until King Jianning takes over Chang’an in the future.
The host Wang Chengwei said a toast, and then everyone started drinking and eating. Some well-informed Jinshi began to talk about the latest news they had learned about the court.
The reason why Wang Chengwei held such a banquet was not only to keep in touch with each other, but also for this information.
You must know that the maximum number of Jinshi in one subject of the Tang Dynasty is thirty, and they will definitely be awarded officials this time. Many of them are children of powerful people and local prominent families. These Jinshi are better informed than ordinary officials in Chang'an.
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The imperial examination is also for becoming an official, so the topic of official selection is the eternal theme of the banquet.
A well-informed Jinshi said:
"I heard that this time His Majesty will meet all the successful candidates in turn, and will ask a question about practical strategies, requiring them to answer orally on the spot. Then His Majesty will list a new order based on his own ratings, and then award positions in this order.
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Another candidate asked: "Does this mean that the top candidate in the imperial examination can choose his own position?"
"That's what it means. The higher the ranking, the more positions you can choose from, and the further down the ranking, the fewer positions you can choose."
Now everyone's eyes lit up.
And such good things?
You must know that in the past, when you were admitted to the Jinshi examination and took part in the selection examination for the Ministry of Civil Service, you were not allowed to be picky and picky. You often had to rush to take up any position as soon as it became available.
If you are unlucky and the positions selected for this round of interviews are all in remote places, you will have to give up your title or take up a position in these remote state capitals, which is almost the same as being assigned to the frontier.
Is there still a choice this time?
The well-informed Jinshi added:
"And the results of this palace examination have nothing to do with the previous results. They are only ranked according to the practical policy of the palace!"
Now everyone is even more excited!
If the results of previous exams are taken into account, then top picks like Wang Chengwei have the greatest advantage.
But according to this method, only counting the results of the imperial examination, everyone will be back on the same starting line!
Originally, Wen Wu was the first and Wu Wu was the second. Although everyone had a good relationship, everyone felt that they could do it, and their hearts became even more passionate.
At this time someone asked again:
"I wonder what kind of official positions the imperial court will come up with this time?"
This question touched everyone's mind.
The starting point for new scholars to enter the officialdom is the highest among all disciplines, and they start from the position of seventh or eighth rank.
But also from the seventh rank, there are high and low levels in this position.
The most noble person is naturally the censor. Serving the censor from the seventh-rank palace is the most dreamy position for Jinshi when they first enter the officialdom.
The position of censor has a long history. In the early days, there were very few censors, and it was considered a lowly and powerful position. In the Han Dynasty, he was known as the Messenger of Embroidered Clothes, which could scare all officials.
There were three institutions for the officials of the Tang Dynasty, namely, the Yushitai, the palace courtyard, and the supervisory palace. The censor in the palace was the censor who belonged to the palace courtyard.
However, starting from the Wu Zhou Dynasty, the three academies basically worked together. The censor of the censor, the censor of the palace, and the censor of the supervision were all collectively referred to as Yanguan.
Although he holds the position of seventh rank, the censor can impeach officials and admonish the emperor. If there are special things, he can be appointed by the imperial court as an imperial envoy to go to local areas to supervise work.
The Censor of the Censorship Station is the seventh rank, the Censor of the palace is the seventh rank, and the Censor of the Supervisory Censor is the eighth rank. In theory, a Jinshi can start as an official from the Censor of the Palace, but in the past, there were rarely vacant censors in the court.
At this time, the well-informed Jinshi said:
"I heard that this time the imperial court has allocated five places for censors!"
Everyone took a breath!
Also from the seventh rank, although the county magistrate of Xiazhou is also Bailihou, his power is not the same as that of the censor.
In the past, even Jinshi with a background had to practice outside for several years before they had the opportunity to be transferred to Chang'an as a censor!
And this time, as long as you rank in the top five in the palace examination, you can reach the sky in one step!
"Remaining are several county magistrates of lower counties, county magistrates of upper counties, county captains of large counties, and the positions of temple supervisors in the six departments."
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All the Jinshis cheered, this time the court really showed sincerity in selecting officials for the Jinshis!
At this moment, the shop owner brought up a pipa girl, followed by an old accompanist who was hunched over.
I only saw that the pipa girl had heavy makeup on her face, but her rough fingers and wrinkles that could not be covered by makeup showed that the pipa girl was old and her youthfulness had long since faded.
Restaurants like Mingyue Tower always have musicians, pipa players or storytellers stationed there. They have a cooperative relationship with the restaurant. Part of the reward money from the performance is handed over to the restaurant, and the restaurant will also introduce business to them.
The owner of the restaurant is a smart man. Every time Wang Chengwei entertains Jinshi at a banquet, he will cook elegant dishes or invite some good musicians. This further enhances Mingyuelou's reputation among scholars, and business is good.
Quite a few.
The boss smiled and said: "This matchmaker was a famous pipa player in Chang'an during the Tianbao period. She has just returned to Chang'an today, so I will invite you to play a piece for all of you."
"The matchmaker's rewards will be distributed through the shop. I hope all distinguished guests will have a great time!"
Seeing the boss being so polite, everyone applauded.
Wang Chengwei looked at the matchmaker and saw that she was wearing a plain dress and only a wooden hairpin in her head.
But the pipa in his hand is of the highest quality.
Wang Chengwei thanked the boss and said to the matchmaker:
"Matchmaker, please play a song for us!"
The matchmaker saluted everyone. It seemed that the pipa player was only thirty years old. However, now that there is a war, the wealthy families have to flee to protect themselves. Women in this kind of prostitution are naturally even more devastated.
The matchmaker quickly responded with a flattering smile on her face.
The old accompanist behind her also sat down and got ready to play.
The Jinshi who were present shook their heads, thinking that this woman was too flattering.
Wang Chengwei knew the virtues of these guys. After listening to the music, he even thought about making the pipa player graceful, elegant, cool and noble. These guys are all the stories about talented people and beauties who have read too many stories. How many of these singing girls can be clean and pure?
of.
However, Wang Chengwei's music appreciation ability has also improved a lot these days. If she is just an ordinary pipa player, just let her play a piece and give her a reward. Next time, don't let the boss introduce her upstairs.
Unexpectedly, Wang Chengwei was surprised when this matchmaker took action.
There was only a sound of plucking strings, like the cry of phoenix chicks, which made everyone stop sipping their wine glasses!
Then a beautiful melody flew out of the pipa in the matchmaker's hand, and everyone held their breath for fear of missing a note.
The soothing rhythm slowly turned into a tense rhythm. Wang Chengwei nervously grabbed the wine glass in his hand, as if he was facing a storm.
By the time the song was over, everyone was immersed in the wonderful music.
Wang Chengwei, who had listened to Yu Xiaoxiao's pipa music a lot, was the first to recover. He took the lead and shouted: "Okay!"