The wheels were rolling, and they were traveling against gusts of cold wind.
The temperature inside the car is not much better than outside, but the people sitting in the car are either strong men or people with a little training, and they don't care about the cold.
Li Qian was still smiling and comforting Zheng Guan.
In fact, who wouldn't be jealous to see such a powerful helper from the Zheng family? Cai Jing must be jealous too.
However, there is a way of soliciting by inviting, and there is a way of soliciting by not inviting.
Cai Jing's recruitment of him was of the latter type.
Now Zheng Guan has offended Song Qiaonian, one of Cai's party members, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites.
The examination is also called Chunwei or Liwei, because it is sponsored by the Ministry of Rites. From this name, we can see how important the Ministry of Rites is in it.
Now everyone, including Zheng Guan himself, must have thought that he would not be able to pass the test.
Under such circumstances, as long as Cai Jing wins over Zheng Guan in the joint examination, there will inevitably be a strong sense of disparity.
Many candidates will definitely praise him. Mr. Cai Jingcai is open to all rivers, regardless of past grudges, and cares for the younger generations... His evaluation among scholars will be even higher.
Zheng Guan, who originally had no hope, suddenly passed the test and was extremely happy. He will definitely be very grateful to Cai Jing and may join his disciples because of this.
And even if this were not the case, it would be difficult for Zheng Guan to stand on the opposite side of Cai Jing again.
Because everyone knows that it was Cai Jing who won Zheng Guan regardless of previous suspicions, and Cai Jing was also kind to Zheng Guan.
Under such circumstances, if Zheng Guan openly opposes Cai Jing, what will others think of him?
Will the Shilin Review say that he is an ungrateful person?
Therefore, as long as Cai Jing promotes Zheng Guan in the joint examination, it will be a sure-profit deal.
But after Li Qian's interference, it was no longer the case.
Zheng Guan no longer had the possibility of being grateful to Cai Jing and joining his disciples. Instead, he remembered this kindness to Li Qian.
This wonderful move not only cut off Cai Jing, but also gained Zheng Guan a big favor. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Moreover, Zheng Guan is still a member of the Zheng family. If Li Qian wants to disturb the marriage between Zheng Guanyin and Li Jiancheng, he can help him.
I have to say, it was a real win.
However, does intercepting Hu Caijing count as a disguised Tauren?
Cai Jing ignored the past grudges and won Zheng Guan, but Zheng Guan was grateful to Li Qian.
Li Qian still felt a little guilty if he was bullish on others, but if Niu Caijing... he could only say that it would be okay.
The atmosphere in the carriage was extremely warm. He rejected Zheng Guan's idea of giving money, and Li Qian told him not to leak the news.
It is best to remain as before and tell outsiders that you cannot pass the exam.
"Brother Li, don't worry, I understand everything!" Zheng Guan chuckled: "No matter what, you can't let others know about this kind of thing."
Li Qian smiled and nodded, mainly because he didn't want Cai Jing to know.
After the examination results were released, the news was spread that Zheng Guan was selected as a Jinshi. In fact, it was He Shen who asked Cai Jing not to hold him back.
At that time, Zheng Guan would not have to be troubled by those chaotic public opinions. Only then would he be able to better understand the preciousness of this favor.
As for why Mr. He wanted to intercede for Zheng Guan...
There may be different opinions from outside, either Zheng Guan used the money, or He Shen made friends with the Zheng family when he was doing disaster relief in Xingyang, and the Zheng family asked him to do so...
But only Zheng Guan and Yan Zhenqing knew that this was Li Qian's favor.
Unfortunately, this method cannot be used often.
Li Qian did know that there were some secret deals among the four civil servant leaders.
For example, in this exam, I will take the exam this time, and you will take the exam next time. Everyone takes turns, and every time there is something to help, I help out.
For example, this time some of my relatives, friends, or party members are going to take the exam, and it happens to be your turn to take the exam, so you have to help them pass it.
If you choke my neck this time, I won’t pinch you next time? That way no one will be able to please me.
Smart civil servants will naturally not fight against each other so that both sides suffer losses. Instead, they choose you to help me and I to help you, and everyone cooperates sincerely.
Therefore, as long as you greet someone, you can usually pass the test.
But there won't be too many such places, usually only one or two for each person, otherwise Li Qian would have to ask He Shen to fill in all the people he has in mind.
In the carriage, Zheng Guan seemed to have put down something on his mind and started talking and laughing with several other people.
Being helped so much by Li Qian, although he didn't say anything on his face, he seemed to remember it firmly in his heart, and his attitude toward Li Qian became even closer.
The carriage gradually slowed down in the cold wind, and bursts of noise came from the front.
"Sir, we've arrived at the clubhouse." The coachman's voice came from the front: "There seems to be some trouble here."
"Something went wrong?"
Lu Bu, who was chatting and laughing with Zheng Guan, was stunned and got out of the car first. After looking around to see if everything was alright, he turned to the car and said, "Sir, it seems that there is a gang of people gathered outside to watch the fun."
Li Qian had long seen the small group of people gathered around the entrance of the Yuzhou Guild Hall from the window. He was also a little curious and followed Zheng Guan and Yan Zhenqing out of the carriage.
Guild halls are actually found all over the country, but they have different uses.
The guild halls in other places are all for commercial use. Most of them are funded by individual businessmen, chambers of commerce or businessmen from the same town. They are places where businessmen can communicate with each other and discuss business. They are equivalent to the clubs in Li Qian's previous life.
This type of guild hall is usually named after the name of the chamber of commerce or the place, such as Jutong guild hall, Dongting guild hall, etc.
But only the several guild halls here in the capital have different uses.
Before every spring, people from various places in Daqian will come to Beijing, and these guild halls are provided free of charge for their accommodation. They are usually funded and built by local businessmen or various vassal states, such as Yuzhou Guild Hall and Qi Guild Hall. etc.
The reason that drives them to do this is also very simple, that is, to provide a better rest environment for their fellow Juren members and to prevent their performance from being abnormal due to other messy reasons.
Some people may think that this is too fussy. Those people have money and nowhere to spend it, so they bought land in the north of Beijing where land is at a premium, spent so much effort building a guild hall, and helped the fellow villagers for free.
People who think this way may not know the importance of Jinshi and the regional unity of Dagan people.
What is the Jinshi? Nowadays, almost all the civil servants and local leaders in the Manchu Dynasty came from the imperial examination, and the final point of the imperial examination is the Jinshi.
Only Jinshi are qualified to enter the highest temple.
The number of Jinshi in a place directly determines how loud the voice will be in the court in the future and how much profit it can reap.
Transportation is inconvenient these days, and one may not be able to travel very far in a lifetime.
Because of this, people from the same place feel particularly friendly when facing outsiders, and the camaraderie among fellow villagers becomes even more intense.
In the past, there were political parties in the Daqian court, including the Qi Party, the Chu Party, the Hui Party, and other officials from the same town. However, due to some reasons, such parties gradually disappeared.
But even so, people and businessmen in every place still hope that there will be more Jinshi in their local area.
This is not only a matter of honor, but also represents tangible interests. Jinshi officials will feed back their hometowns and work hard to benefit their elders in their hometowns.
Even if you don't actively seek benefits, there are many other invisible benefits.
To put it bluntly, Yan Song was born in Fenyi.
When he was the left prime minister in the court, the magistrates and county guards of Fenyi must be careful and walk on thin ice. They would never dare to act unscrupulously in the hometown of the left prime minister and prey on the common people.
Doesn’t this mean that people’s lives have moved up a notch in disguise?
Li Qian also knew a very classic example, the reformer Zhang Juzheng in his previous life. Before he joined the cabinet, he saw the shortcomings of water transportation in the Ming Dynasty. He proposed several times to transport grain by sea to relieve the pressure on the court.
But after he entered the cabinet, became the chief minister, and had the ability to accomplish this matter, he never mentioned it again, and even took action to suppress officials who insisted on transporting grain by sea.
The reason is that if you want to transport grain on the sea, the watercraft on the river are too small, and you need a large ship that can withstand wind and waves to take the sea route.
But building big ships requires big wood. At that time, only Zhang Juzheng's hometown, Huguang, was suitable for using big wood. However, cutting down trees and transporting them out of the province would inevitably waste a lot of money on the people and make the people do more corvee labor. Word.
Coupled with the resistance of the water transportation group at that time, Zhang Juzheng gave up the idea of shipping.
If you think about it, you will know that if you were a strong-willed chief minister who was born in another place, he would definitely not care about the life and death of the people in Huguang. This shows how important it is to have a high-ranking fellow countryman in the court.
This is only a benefit to the local area. For the vassal states, the benefits are countless.
With these benefits, how could they not be keen on helping fellow citizens?
Li Qian was thinking as he walked, and soon a few people arrived at the outskirts of the crowd.
Even in the dead of winter, there are still many celebrities wearing stylish round-necked black silk robes to show their status. Of course, they must wear cotton coats under the black silk robes, otherwise they will really be "looking for style rather than warmth."
"Brother, what's going on inside?"
One of the onlookers outside was pulled over by Zheng Guan, but the enthusiasm on his face and the smile on his lips softened visibly.
But when he saw Zheng Guan's face, he was stunned, as if he recognized Zheng Guan: "Are you Zheng Guan? Brother Zheng?"
"Here he is." Zheng Guan looked past him and looked behind him curiously: "Brother, I wonder what happened here?"
This candidate seemed to be from the capital, and he recognized Yan Zhenqing behind him. The coldness on his face quickly melted away, and a warm smile ignited.
"It's not some other big thing, but Jinke's Yuzhou Jieyuan is here, and he happens to have a fight with someone. Why don't you come and join in the fun?"
"The bar is on?"
Li Qian suddenly became interested and couldn't help but ask: "Who are you fighting with?"
Although the judge didn't know Li Qian, but seeing that he was able to travel with Zheng Guan and Yan Zhenqing, and that he was also vaguely the leader, he didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly replied: "It seems that he is a steward in Mr. Cai's house."
Li Qian nodded. It turned out to be such a topical matter. No wonder so many people gathered here to watch.
While they were talking, an angry shout could be heard faintly in the clubhouse: "Do you know what you are doing? The prime minister has come to invite you, Mr. Bao, over and over again. Don't be ignorant!"
Squeezing in from the front door, Li Qian took advantage of the situation and looked inside. From a distance, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a black brocade cotton robe, his face flushed with righteousness, and he was jumping angrily in front of a separate small courtyard.
But the real situation is somewhat different from what the man next to him said.
This was not because the two of them were fighting, but because the steward was simply furious.
Bao Zheng seems to live in that small courtyard, but the courtyard door is closed at the moment, so there is no need to pay attention to him.
There are two stewards of the Yuzhou Guild Hall outside the door. They are sweating profusely and helping the steward of Cai Jing's house to call the door. They seem to be sorry for the Jie Yuan inside.
Moreover, they help outsiders deal with their own people. If word spreads, their reputation will be bad, but no one will dare to come to their place!
But if they were to persuade the manager of the Cai Mansion to leave, they wouldn't have the guts.
Even if we don’t mention Mr. Cai Jingcai’s power and how awesome his party members are, he is still the examiner of the National Examination!
If you offend Mr. Cai, who can afford it if someone targets you, a candidate from Yuzhou?
"Bao Zheng, you are so rude!"
The steward of the Cai Mansion blushed and banged the door angrily twice, but there was still no sound inside.
He laughed angrily and looked like he wanted to bite his teeth into pieces. He turned around and shouted to the students behind him: "Everyone, have you seen how rude this beast is?"
"My master sent me to invite him as a guest. I only saw his face when I came here for the first time. He excused himself by saying that he had to review the scriptures and prepare for the exam and was unable to go out. I believed him at the time!"
"Later, I came three times in a row and invited him sincerely. This was already the fourth time, but this man was so rude that he didn't even come out to see me!"
"What is right and wrong depends on the heart of the people!"
The steward turned around and glanced at the closed courtyard door bitterly: "How can such a rude person still want to be admitted to the Jinshi?"
After that, he ignored the dissuasion from the two guild hall stewards, who were shouting for their father, and walked away angrily, pushing away the crowd with thumping steps.
Seeing him walking away, everyone present began to discuss: "This Bao Jieyuan, is he a little too... too stubborn?"
"Yeah, what kind of scriptures and meanings are you reviewing at this time? Isn't a visit to Mr. Cai's house more effective than all the scriptures and meanings?"
"Oh, I really can't think about it. I have offended Mr. Cai. Now I guess no matter how much I review, it will be useless..."
Everyone sighed. Not only did they look down on Bao Zheng, but they also had mixed feelings about him.
How many people in the capital city want to visit Mr. Cai at his house but have no way to visit him?
But he was good. Except for the first time, he didn't even see him the next few times. It was really... hard to believe.
"What do you know? Bao Jieyuan is called an upright man! He didn't see the examiner before the examination to avoid suspicion!" Such a voice suddenly came from the crowd.
Li Gan looked up and found that the person speaking was a young Juren, about 20 years old, wearing a green silk cotton robe and a mink fur hat. He was looking up at the people who had just spoken. Lift people.
Not only Li Qian and the others, almost all the people present turned their heads and looked over.
If these candidates have been through the ups and downs of officialdom for more than ten years or decades, they may sneer at this, young man, you are still too young.
But now they are still young and young people, and they still retain such things as propriety, justice and integrity in their hearts.
So these people just glanced at the person who was speaking, then their faces turned red with shame, and they hid their faces in twos and threes and left.
Li Qian just glanced at him, then looked at the gate of Bao Zheng's courtyard, and said helplessly: "It seems that we can't see this Bao Jieyuan today."
Judging from Bao Zheng's attitude, he simply doesn't want to see guests or be disturbed!
Lu Bu didn't want to be rejected, so he looked at the door and said eagerly: "Master, how about I go and kick this door open?"
"Forget it." Li Qian waved his hand helplessly.
The stewards in Cai Jing's house are so cool and coaxing, and they are not human beings, and they don't even kick their doors. If you let Lu Bu kick them, wouldn't it mean that you are even more unbearable than Cai Jing?
But besides being helpless, he was also a little worried.
Sure enough, he and Li Qian thought well. With Bao Zheng's character, he would never abandon Cai Jing and others.
But what should Cai Jing do? What should he do about his examination?
Is it possible to really watch him fail?
Li Qian knew that if people like Bao Zheng were forced to lose office under the pressure of the powerful people of the day, there would be fewer and fewer upright people in the world who dare to speak out.
Everyone knows that if you stay upright, you will be suppressed, but if you flatter someone, you will have a bright future.
As time goes by, we will know how people will choose.
When the time comes, generation after generation, those who dare to speak out will be suppressed, and those who will rise up will be those who only shamelessly exploit the situation.
If the emperor is surrounded by such things, isn't this a harbinger of the country's downfall?
He sighed quietly, Bao Zheng was just a microcosm, or a representative figure.
Li Qian felt that he must keep these people who are not afraid of power and dare to speak out.
"If you can't visit me, go back."
Yan Zhenqing glanced at the closed door with emotion, as if he had been stimulated and inspired by something: "We are also Jieyuan, but this brother Bao is so diligent. He is not impatient at all when he is about to take the exam, but is alone in the room to study. ."
"On my side, I've been a little lax lately."
He shook his head and sighed: "It really shouldn't be the case. It's better to go back and review your books as soon as possible."
Zheng Guan was also aroused to strive for success: "If you two are like this, then I can't be left behind!"
Now that he has the hope of taking the pilot test, he naturally has to take it seriously.
Li Qian was a little dumbfounded, so he had to laugh and said: "Since you are all like this, then I have to go back to review my books and polish my articles, and I will take the exam again in three years."
~~
On the other side, the steward of the Cai Mansion rushed back angrily and reported the matter to Mr. Cai Jingcai.
In Cai's Mansion, in the study, the steward thought that Cai Jing would be so angry that he would directly "ban" the bastard black boy who didn't know how to live or die.
Unexpectedly, Cai Jing just waved his hand and said "I understand" and said nothing more.
Naturally, the steward did not dare to question his master, so he bowed and left on his own.
After he left, Song Qiaonian, whose face turned dark, suddenly stood up and walked back and forth angrily: "Rebellion, rebellion! It's really rebellion!"
"These civil servants are so lawless. Do you really think that if you pass the exam, you can go to heaven?"
He banged on the rectangular mahogany table on the side, and couldn't help but said angrily: "This Bao Zheng, Yan Zhenqing, and that one named Zheng Guan, one by one, please go back to your hometown to farm!"
"They won't even be given the honor of being elected!"
The Ministry of Rites does have the power to remove people from their positions of authority.
Cai Jing was silent for a moment and sighed slowly: "Don't be so impulsive, Xianmin."
"As the country's talent promotion ceremony, the General Examination must be fair and impartial. Is there any reason to use it to suppress dissidents and cultivate party members?"
Song Qiaonian was choked and looked as if he had eaten a dead mouse, but he still held up his hands and said, "I understand."
Cai Jing shook his head and stood up: "It is indeed time to put the examination on the agenda. I will go to the palace today."
Song Qiaonian was overjoyed: "If you take action, you will succeed immediately."
Cai Jing shook his head slightly and shouted to the servants outside the study: "Prepare the sedan chair."
"Yes, Master." The servant's shout came, and then there was a rush of footsteps going away...
When Yan Song and He Shen were here before, Cai Jing entered the palace more often.
But now that these two guys are gone, Cai Jing first had a confrontation with Qin Hui, and recently he had a secret confrontation with His Majesty the Emperor. There were conflicts between the two sides, so the number of visits to the palace was reduced a lot.
.
This time he entered the palace not to find Qin Hui or Li Qian, but to go to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Rites.
Mr. Cai was wearing a crimson official robe, a thick black hat on his head, and a red mink fur cloak. He braved the wind and came outside the yamen of the Ministry of Rites.
In fact, when it comes to cold, it is not the coldest time, and the wind here in the capital is not very strong.
And it stands to reason that obese people have fat to protect themselves from the cold and are less afraid of the cold.
It's just that Mr. Cai's situation is special. His body is relatively weak, so if you can wrap up more, try to wrap up as much as possible.
Although there is only one examination room for the general examination, it is much more troublesome than the provincial examination.
Therefore, starting from the few months before the examination, the Ministry of Etiquette will fall into a non-stop cycle, every day, and every time I see 996, I will shed tears.
Therefore, when Mr. Cai Jingcai entered the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, no one of the scribes who came and went in a hurry noticed him.
An official who was following Cai Jing looked dissatisfied and was about to speak, but Cai Jing stopped him in time.
It wasn't until the two of them were approaching the stairs that anyone noticed them, and then an exclamation of surprise came from the crowd.
"Master Cai?"
"Cai Chaoduan?"
Exclaims of surprise came from the mouths of many officials of the Ministry of Etiquette, and then these people came to greet them one after another. Moreover, the exclamations here seemed to alert other officials on duty, and bursts of hurried footsteps rushed towards this direction.
Cai Jing smiled kindly at them, and said helplessly: "Why are you so open-minded?"
"Our etiquette department is the busiest at the moment. I originally wanted to go in quietly so as not to disturb you. Forget about all the complicated etiquette."
Sima Guang, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, also happened to be in the Yamen today. When he ran out, he heard Cai Jing's words and was speechless.
You always dress like a big red toad and walk swaggering through the yamen. How can you sneak in quietly? Who can't see you like this?
But even though he thought so, he still stepped forward quickly and handed over his hand: "I have met Lord Cai."
"No need to be too polite." Cai Jing held up his hand with a smile: "I came to see Uncle Zong today to discuss something, you just go about your business."