This was Li Xuan's first imperial examination after he ascended the throne, and it was regarded by the outside world as a weathervane for a long time to come.
From the title of the poem to the title of the article, they will all be the focus of attention from the outside world. They will read between the lines to analyze the political flavor contained in it and analyze the emperor's various hints.
This is the political atmosphere of the Central Plains.
Many times, emperors would not make their opinions public, but would hint through some channels.
This hint can only be understood by keen people or people who have read books. Therefore, readers will have a sense of superiority.
The restaurants along Zhuque Street were full today, and there were all kinds of people inside: family members of candidates, teachers from schools, literati waiting to see which direction they were going to take, and various forces waiting for the questions...
"It is said that the emperor will ask questions about reform. Anyone who does not support reform...remember the Southern Zhou Dynasty?"
In a restaurant, more than ten literati were drinking.
"Why don't you remember that after the emperor conquered the Southern Zhou Dynasty, those who were demoted were lining up, waiting for reappointment. Who would have thought that the emperor said that anyone who opposed the New Deal would not be hired. Tsk tsk! Public opinion in the Southern Zhou Dynasty was boiling."
"I have a friend who is an official in the Southern Zhou Dynasty. He wrote to me that at that time, the scholar-officials of the Southern Zhou Dynasty were very angry and furious. Some even clamored to take the emperor's head. He said that even if the emperor was sent to the Northern Xinjiang Army
When the camp and Bianjing were breached and the Southern Zhou Dynasty was overthrown, none of the scholar-bureaucrats had ever been so angry."
"Don't worry, those gentlemen are all human beings. They have changed their ways since last year."
"Yes! Since last year, each family has been teaching their children the ways of the New Deal and analyzing the various shortcomings of the Tang Dynasty. We have been waiting for this moment."
"Now that the Tang Dynasty is flourishing, there is a huge shortage of officials in various places. I am afraid that this department will lose a lot of people."
"Yes! Let's just talk about the hometown of Northern Liao and the hometown of Southern Zhou. It is said that Luo Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was so worried about finding suitable officials that he wished he could go there in person."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Everyone laughed.
Downstairs, Ma Hongzhong is drinking.
What is different from the past is that this time the imperial examination lasted only one day, from morning to afternoon.
He didn't plan to drink from morning to night, but sitting in the private room of the restaurant with the windows open and a small breeze blowing, he actually felt a little emotional.
"Without the land and people in the family, I actually feel that I have nothing to do and I am light-hearted. The only thing I worry about is my children and grandchildren. In the past, when there was land and people, the children and grandchildren could live a rich life no matter what. But now the poor only have money. If they are children and grandchildren,
If you fail to live up to your expectations and sit on your hands, your family fortune will be ruined sooner or later. Alas!"
The waiting time was long, so the entourage was able to sit on the edge. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "Da Langjun is so smart and sensible, what else does Alang have to worry about!"
"The fields are gone, the population is gone. What are we fighting for? It's reputation!" Ma Hongzhong squeaked and drank a glass of wine, with a worried look on his eyebrows, "You must have an official, and an official doesn't need to be big.
When you become an official, you can reach the sixth rank, and even the seventh rank. As long as there is an official, the children and grandchildren will have an example. From then on, there will be continuous imperial examinations and officials, won't this family be established? "
Ma Hongzhong poured himself a drink, "Some people have never bothered to take part in the imperial examination, but they are here this time. It shows that they are all like-minded. Alas! Your Majesty is really powerful. Once the slave status is released, we will have to sell the land.
.The big problem of annexing land was solved by itself."
The attendant said: "Hey! It's really like that!"
"Without these, if those families want to maintain their current status, they must let more of their children become officials. This is the only way. But after they become officials, the future of those children will be in the hands of His Majesty. Let you defeat you.
Just be flat, and if you are asked to be round, you will be round. In this case, those families still dare to make trouble with His Majesty?"
The more Ma Hongzhong thought about it, the better he got, "Tsk tsk! Your Majesty's move! It made me think of the art of war. It's really wonderful!"
…
The exam is in progress.
The emperor was impatient to sit, so he got up and walked around.
Han Ji and others are behind.
"Your Majesty has dug a big hole, allowing those families to jump in step by step. I don't know how many people have woken up at this moment."
Han Ji smiled like an old fox.
"Your Majesty has said that when two armies are facing each other, the so-called art of war is actually to study people's hearts. Your Majesty's use of troops is unparalleled in the world, and his ability to study people's hearts is naturally unrivaled."
He Lianrong touched his bald head and said, "His Majesty has been making plans as early as in Northern Xinjiang. He started by suppressing the powerful people and arousing their hostility. When the slaves are released, it will naturally be regarded as an move to suppress the powerful people. But who can
Thinking of His Majesty’s subsequent methods coming like a great tide, it’s irresistible!”
The emperor was probably tired from walking, so he went back, sat down, and took out a volume from his sleeve.
Ma Xi was typing the manuscript, and when he looked up and saw the emperor reading a book, he couldn't help but praise in his heart: Your Majesty can't let go of the book, how can we be lazy?
The emperor held the scroll, his eyes glowed, and he murmured something.
"This move is really wonderful. How do you think these people came up with it? Who should I look for to try it later? An Ning? That's all, An Ning will give me a few shots. Or I can look for Li Fei, yes, Li Fei
Concubine is brave..."
"This kind of book is unsightly. If those young people saw it, wouldn't it be misleading? I'll ask Liang Jing to check it later!"
The sun is gradually setting in the west.
Concubine Li is here.
She walked behind the emperor, leaned over, and then was startled...
The emperor noticed someone behind him, quickly closed the book and said seriously: "What's the matter?"
Concubine Li's cheeks were a little red, "Yiniang was investigating the poisoning, and one of the servants died suddenly."
"Interesting!" The emperor smiled and said: "It shows that those people are still there, in the palace and outside the palace. How they joined forces in the first place can be traced out. I want to see who is behind the scenes."
"yes!"
Concubine Li suddenly said: "Your Majesty, do you like to read books like this?"
"Who said that?" The emperor said with a straight face, "I am just criticizing."
"oh!"
"By the way, I'll go to your place tonight."
…
"Fifty breaths left!"
The examiner said loudly.
The candidates who had not finished the exam sped up.
"forty!"
"thirty!"
"twenty!"
"Ten...hour is up!"
Then someone struck the small bell.
Clang clang clang!
The chamberlains walked down and shouted: "Everyone, pick up your pens. Anyone who writes again will be punished as cheating!"
Some people were unwilling to write quickly, so the chamberlains trotted down and grabbed the brush with their hands, but did not confiscate the test paper.
"Everyone stand up."
The candidates stood up slowly. Because they had been sitting for too long, someone shouted: "I'm numb! I'm numb!"
The exam is over.
The candidates came out in droves.
There are already crowds of people outside.
Ma Hongzhong was among them, tiptoeing in search of his son.
"Da Lang! Da Lang!"
When he saw Ma Xi, he raised his hands and shouted.
Maxi heard a familiar voice, looked up, and couldn't help but cover his forehead, "I couldn't tell you."
Ma Hongzhong was so crowded that he was sweating. When his son came over, he smiled and said: "I'm here to see you because of my father's business. Come on, let's go find a place to eat. My father had been looking for that restaurant business for a long time.
It’s particularly good. I made a reservation early for my father, so there is still room... Now look at so many people, if I didn’t make a reservation earlier, where would they go to eat?”
"Aye, didn't you say you were here by the way?"
"Well!"
The father and son went to dinner, but Ma Hongzhong never mentioned the exam.
But Maxi took the initiative and said, "Don't worry, Aye!"
"Okay, okay, I feel relieved as a father!"
Ma Hongzhong drank wine and smiled bitterly in his heart, but suddenly he heard someone crying below.
"I've never seen the questions mentioned, what force, what flow...and what kind of Qi? Isn't the Qi we breathe just Qi? How can we still figure it out..."
"How many questions are there?"
"More, accounting for sixty-seven percent."
"How much did you do?"
"Not a single one was done."
"Everyone is the same, everything is fine."
"No, the students from the Imperial College and the students from Northern Xinjiang are writing like flies. It's obvious... they are very confident."
Boom!
There was the sound of things being thrown downstairs, and then someone yelled, "This bitch is going to break our last leg!"
Ma Hongzhong looked at his son, "Da Lang, how many percent did you make?"
Ma Xi took the initiative to raise his glass for the first time, "Ten percent!"
…
"This is a long-planned method!" Yang Xinxiang's face turned pale. "He first took away the population of the big clans like us. At that time, many people were saying that the emperor wanted to weaken the powerful clans so that they could not rebel. But who ever thought
I think he is forcing us to take the last path...to become officials through the imperial examination. We were still complacent, thinking that there was still another way. But in a blink of an eye, he cut off this path!"
"Son of a bitch!"
Boom!
The study of the head of the Yang family faced a catastrophe for the first time.
…
Zhou, Zhou Qin and his son were sitting opposite each other.
"This is pulling the fire under the cauldron." Zhou Qin sighed.
"Zitai is too cruel!" Zhou Zun couldn't help it.
"Alang, Langjun, the queen is back." A servant came to report happily.
The queen returns to her natal family too frequently!
This shows the emperor's favor.
"This is for lobbying."
Zhou Qindan said calmly.
The queen comes in.
Waving his hands, the people accompanying him withdrew.
"Aweng, Aye, I came out today not because of Zitai's intention."
The Queen made her position clear first.
Zhou Qin sat at the top, holding the birdcage with his hand. The old dog shrank its neck in the cage and did not dare to bark.
"So, what is he going to do? Is he going to cut off the path of my wealthy family?" Zhou Qin asked.
The queen said calmly: "For thousands of years, every time the Central Plains dynasty was shaken, you could see the figures of powerful families looming in it. Power moved people's hearts, wealth moved people's hearts, but people's desires were endless. In the end, it was not destroyed.
You yourself have destroyed the dynasty."
She raised her head and said, "You should also know Zitai's attitude, Aweng."
"What he hates most is our family!" Zhou Qin said.
"Zitai once said that he envied a person very much. I asked him who he was. He said that the person was called Huang Chao. He was a student of a certain dynasty. The dynasty was corrupt, the people were in dire straits, and Huang Chao failed in the imperial examination, so he rebelled."
Zhou Qin and his son frowned slightly, wondering why she mentioned a person who didn't exist at all.
"After conquering Chang'an, Huang Chao ordered his subordinates to drag the ministers to the long street and have the cavalry trample them..."
"He pulled those powerful people to the river and had them killed. The river turned red. He killed the powerful people in the world in one fell swoop."
"This Huang Chao must be Zitai!" Zhou Qin was shocked, thinking that the emperor actually wanted to destroy the powerful families in the world?
"Zitai didn't want to be cruel, so he chose to take a roundabout way. Aweng, Aye, this is goodwill. Don't throw his goodwill on the ground."
The queen got up and walked out, stopping at the door, "By the way, Huang Chao also wrote a poem."
"When autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth month, when the flowers bloom, hundreds of flowers will bloom. The fragrance will reach Chang'an, and the whole city will be filled with golden armor!"