Chapter 153 The opening ceremony before the palace exam
Only then did the group come to their senses. They crossed the square diagonally and continued forward from the corridor on the west side, passing by the Jinluan Hall and passing by a slightly smaller palace. He Qizhou had good eyesight and saw the large characters on the plaque that read:
Zhongji Hall, and the big characters on Jinluan Hall are Huangji Hall.
The team began to turn right and followed the stone path to the square behind the Zhongji Hall. The square was also very large, with a length and width of about fifty feet each. At the north end of the square was a majestic palace slightly smaller than the Huangji Hall but slightly larger than the Zhongji Hall.
In the palace, a plaque read "Jianji Hall". Everyone walked along the square until they reached Jianji Hall before His Majesty Dan stopped. Directly opposite His Majesty Dan, a five-foot long and wide open space was opened, which was covered with a layer of yellow-brown linen cloth.
, particularly conspicuous in the snow-covered square.
More than a dozen eunuchs were working non-stop to sweep away the snow on the cloth. There were a row of weapon racks on the east and west sides of the linen-paved fighting platform, and then there were red ropes on the east, west and south sides ten feet away for the competition.
At the venue, there are already many officials standing outside the red rope, preparing to watch the battle. They are either wearing thick cloaks or cloaks covering their heads and faces. Several older civil servants have young eunuchs supporting them behind them.
Umbrella, officials still come here from time to time from the direction of Taihe Hall in the south.
The four real Hou Zhans followed the instructions and stood at the foot of Danbi's steps, while the rest of the Wu Jinshi all moved behind the red line in the south. At some point, the prince in court clothes also left from the south accompanied by an old eunuch.
After coming over and bowing to King Cheng, the two of them walked up more than thirty steps together to the platform outside Jianji Hall.
The time was approaching, and all the ministers who had just retired were standing outside the red line. The supervisors and heads of the four schools and six factions had also arrived. However, some of the courtiers looked red-faced and were still arguing in low voices from time to time. He Qi was across the boat.
After walking more than ten feet, he vaguely heard someone mention his name, and seemed to mention Yang Zheng. Jiang Zhu turned to He Qizhou and said, "Actually, I really want to fight with you, but some people seem to be reluctant to give in."
You keep walking!"
Xu Mu stood in the first place and said to Jiang Zhu: "Your Highness, I hope you can say something fair when the time comes."
Jiang Zhu smiled bitterly and said, "Then I'll give it a try, but I'm afraid those people under my eldest brother will say that I'm just trying to gain fame and win people's hearts."
"Your Majesty has arrived -" With the eunuch's shouts, an eight-step horse gradually appeared on the platform above Danbi. The old emperor arrived on time on the high platform outside Jianji Hall, following the tall and thin man.
The old emperor stood up from his throne, and shouts of "Long live, long live, long live, long live" were heard everywhere, and a large group of people fell down in the snow. On the high platform, Prince Cheng and the Crown Prince also knelt down facing the emperor.
He Qizhou took a long look before he knelt down. However, he was too far away and couldn't see the old emperor's face clearly. However, although the old emperor's five words "everyone loves you" sounded very light, they seemed to be conveyed very clearly.
To everyone's ears, this inner strength was truly astonishing, and they could actually hear the word "Ping Shen" more clearly than the eunuch trying his best to convey it.
There were two people standing next to the old emperor's steps. One was wearing a purple robe and was at least half a head shorter than the emperor. The other was close to the emperor's height and seemed to be wearing regular clothes. Danbi was divided into three layers and was about three feet wide.
What runs through the middle are stone sculptures of auspicious clouds and dragons. There is a two-foot-deep platform in the middle of each floor. The emperor slowly walked down from the high platform until he reached the lower platform closest to the square before stopping, and behind him was
Following the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng and the two people next to them respectively, they listened to Xu Mu's low-pitched introduction. The man in Taoist robes was the national preceptor, Quanzhen Taoist Yuan Qing. The other man had a bigger name, Jiang Xian, the elder of Yunmen, had been
The eldest among the Six Immortals of the Emperor.
Although He Qizhou was flat, he did not dare to take a closer look, but he still secretly glanced at a few people on the more than ten steps. The emperor had gray hair and a long beard that reached his neck. His face was pale, his eyes were sunken, and the corners of his eyes were full of wrinkles.
Although he was only seventy-two years old, Li Jichen seemed to be much older than Jiang Xian, who was several years older than him. However, his eyes were shining brightly and his expression was calm. The moment He Qizhou met his eyes, he actually felt a powerful force.
The pressure caused an inexplicable feeling of fear.
"It's been three years again, my dear brother. I heard that this year's martial arts competition is full of talented people, but it shouldn't be as boring as the last one." The emperor smiled sideways at King Cheng beside him.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! The overall strength is indeed far superior to the previous one." King Cheng said.
The emperor said: "It's snowing well this time! I think we suffered a lot in the snowy fields back then. In the future, we are going to be able to stand proudly in the sea everywhere and at any time. So what are we waiting for?"
Ah, let’s get started.”
"What the emperor said is absolutely true. I will announce the start of the test now." King Cheng walked down a few more steps and was about to announce the start of the competition. Suddenly, one of the courtiers more than ten feet away rushed out and knelt down directly.
Next to the last step, he said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report to you, Ma Yi, the censor of Qiandu!"
The emperor's smile gradually condensed, and he said: "This is not a court meeting. Can't it be played after the palace examination?"
"What I have told you is about this martial arts exercise. I hope your majesty will carry it out." Ma Yi fell down in the snow, and his body began to tremble. It was obvious that he had never practiced martial arts.
The emperor turned his head and looked at the prince on the other side, and said in a sullen voice: "What's going on? It can't be solved?"
Upon seeing this, the prince immediately knelt down and said: "My son is incompetent and my son is unfilial!"
"Oh, you still look like this. Get up. Ma Yi, get up too. If you have anything to say, please tell me quickly!"
The prince slowly stood up, but Ma Yi did not stand up. He was still kneeling and said: "I dare not get up to speak, but your majesty allows me to kneel and play."
"Speak quickly!" There was anger in the emperor's voice.
"Your Majesty, I want to testify about the crime of dereliction of duty by five people in the Imperial Military Academy and the Tianxing Academy!"
"What's going on?" The emperor glanced at Jiang Gui, and King Cheng had an inexplicable look on his face.
Ma Yi continued: "The Armed Forces Museum allowed the son of a criminal official to participate in the martial arts examination. This has violated our Daqi criminal law. Please be aware of it."
"Who is the son of the guilty minister, and which guilty minister is he?" Jiang Cong asked.
"Back to Your Majesty, Tianxingyuan He Qizhou is the son of the guilty minister Yang Zheng!"
As soon as Yang Zheng's name came out, the officials seemed to be excited. Suddenly more than a dozen officials dragged traces on the snow and knelt down at the bottom of the steps. The voices of "I second the proposal" and "I participate in the impeachment" kept coming and going!
When Wan Zhiyuan saw that something was wrong, he immediately ran to the other side of the steps and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, please allow me to report!" After all, he had practiced martial arts, and his voice with a little inner strength was louder than more than ten people.
The chaos of people!
The emperor pointed at Wan Zhiyuan and said, "Go ahead."
"Wei Chen is Wan Zhiyuan, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, who also serves as the supervisor of the Tianxing Court. This He Qizhou is just the adopted son of Yang Zheng. He is not listed as a sinner in the household registration. Moreover, he has been allowed to participate in the liberal arts examination and has been awarded the title of scholar.
, there is no objection from the local authorities, there is nothing illegal in the Tianxingyuan, your Majesty, please take a closer look!"
"The Ministry of Punishment said there was no violation of criminal laws, so why are you still playing together? Do you think I am too idle?" Jiang Cong looked at the dozen or so people at the foot of the steps angrily.
"Your Majesty, Yang Zheng's crime of disobeying military orders and leaving his post without permission is well known to the world. How can he be said to be innocent? He Qizhou is Yang Zheng's adopted son and the son of a guilty minister. His status as a scholar should also be deprived. If local officials are negligent, they should be held accountable.
The crime of dereliction of duty." The minister of the Ministry of War and the eunuchs of the Tianshu Academy raised their heads from the kneeling crowd and said.
"Tang Taicheng!" Following Jiang Cong's call, the eunuch hurriedly walked up the steps. Jiang Cong asked: "How was Yang Zheng's case finally settled?"
Tang Taicheng replied without hesitation: "His Majesty said three words back then: the merits are equal to the faults, the reward will be withdrawn, and there will be no further discussion from now on!"
"Is there anyone else who wants to participate?" Jiang Cong asked coldly.
"Your Majesty, Yang Zheng had shaken the morale of the army back then. If the army knew that his adopted son had entered the Arms Arms Hall, they would probably be resentful!" Maude realized that if he didn't say anything, he might not be able to stop He Qizhou from entering the Arms Arms Hall.
After hearing this, Zhang Zhiren hurriedly approached and said, "Master Mo, what you said is wrong. Many soldiers in the army follow Yang Zhengzhi's bravery as an example. Even the captured prisoners of the Zhou Dynasty still respect Yang Zheng in awe."
"Oh, in that case, let's see who is still following Yang Zheng as an example?" Mod said softly.
"Are you afraid that there will be chaos in the army?" Zhang Zhiren suddenly became angry!
"I think Zhang Shangshu wants to shake the morale of the army!" Mo Dezheng said.
"Two adults, please don't hurt your harmony. However, when Yang Zheng was captured and then went to the Northern Zhou Dynasty privately, people were really suspicious. I also think it is not appropriate to let his adopted son enter the Military Court Hall!" Chen Yu, the chief assistant, couldn't help but personally personally
It's over.
Seeing the opportunity, Shi Lan hurriedly jumped out and said: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that He Qizhou also has bad conduct and is the suspect in the two murder cases in Jiangling!"
Everyone present was in an uproar. He Qizhou was about to argue when Xu Mu persuaded him in a low voice: "Don't say anything until you are called." As long as he was disrespected by ginseng, there would be no chance.
After hearing this, Liu Yan said angrily: "Then why don't you just arrest him and end it with a simple punishment? There is no need for everyone to talk nonsense like this!"
"There are many doubts, but there is no evidence yet. Mr. Liu, please don't hurt others with your words." Shi Lan said calmly.
"Then it won't be too late to arrest you when you find evidence. The emperor committed the same crime as the common people. Even if He Qizhou becomes the first assistant or second assistant in the future, it will not be difficult for you to make a command history!" Liu Yan did not forget to ridicule Shi Lan,
Then he turned to Chen Yu and said: "Master Chen, as far as I know, Yang Zheng passed away when He Qizhou was two years old. In terms of closeness, I guess many people present have respectfully called Yang Zheng his mentor, right? I haven't seen him either.
Someone resigned because of this? Not to mention that Yang Zheng’s merits outweighed his faults. Even if his merits and faults were equal, he would be dead, so why should he bother his adopted son again?”
Chen Yu secretly laughed that Liu Yan was still a bit young after all, and ignored Liu Yan, turning to face the emperor. He raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that for thousands of years, there is no such thing as merit and demerit. Merit is merit, fault is fault, and merit should be rewarded."
, if you make mistakes, you will be punished. This is the eternal law. If this were not the case, people with a small amount of merit would dare to do wrong, those with great merits would be lawless, and those with unparalleled achievements would covet the country! I hope Your Majesty will not set this precedent!