Someone in the crowd knocked on his head. Chen Zhuo turned around and exclaimed: "Sister A Luo, Sister Shen, why are you two here?"
"Sister Shen, why are you dressed like this?"
Shen Moran was wearing coarse clothes, and she almost didn't recognize her at first glance. Even the rough servant girl who kept the fire in the house was dressed more luxuriously than her.
Si Yiluo hid in the crowd and had no intention of interfering. Zhang Jin had suffered a loss once. If he didn't make progress this time, even if he entered the officialdom in the future, he would only be regarded as a gunman.
"Come out for fun once in a while and watch your excitement."
Shen Moran turned back to Si Yiluo and said, "Is that the Zhang Jin you mentioned?"
The money was scattered on the ground, and there were officers and soldiers maintaining order. No one dared to grab it, but they were afraid of getting into trouble. The candidates backed up and accidentally stepped on the feet of the officers and soldiers. One candidate fell backwards with an ouch, fearing that he would get into trouble when he entered the examination room. Put away the things you are using and reach out to grab the candidate next to you.
The candidates fell into a heap like the officers and soldiers stacked on top of each other.
Zhang Jin took the opportunity to shake out the banknotes from another official's arms.
"You are familiar with the books of sages, what is the purpose of our reading? Is it just to honor our ancestors and get ahead?" He stood on a high place and said loudly, ""Shuo Yuan" says that officials can be divided into six righteous and six evil."
"Looking far ahead and taking precautions against dangers before they happen is called 'holy'; being open-minded and dedicated to supporting good and eliminating evil is called 'good'; working hard and sleeping hard at night to promote talents is called 'loyalty'; knowing success and failure and turning misfortunes into blessings is called 'loyalty'" It is 'wisdom'; to fulfill one's duties and be honest and loyal to the public, this is 'chastity'; to be upright and upright, to dare to argue and to give advice, this is 'straight'. These are the six righteousnesses."
"The six evils are: mediocrity, flattery, treachery, slander, thieves, and danger."
"An official is greedy for salary and does not do official business; he is flattering and flattering; he is jealous of talents and talents with clever words; he is so eloquent that he sows dissension; he is monopolistic and exploits power and forms cliques for personal gain; he directs behind the scenes and stirs up trouble."
"Today these two adults have committed the three evils of mediocrity, treachery, and thieves. They openly solicited bribes, used clever words and tricks, monopolized power, and formed cliques for personal gain. I am afraid there are people behind the scenes who are causing trouble. The students asked to see the examiner, and begged to clear the examination room and give justice to the students!"
Someone in the crowd echoed.
"I know the candidate who was a student just now. He is from Jiangnan, but he asked someone to find a relationship. When he was a candidate, he changed his appearance and changed his relationship to a household registration in northern Shaanxi! But he has been studying in a college in Jiangnan. Please take a closer look!"
It is not uncommon to take the imperial examination by pretending to have a registered residence. There are many candidates in the prosperous areas in the south of the Yangtze River, but the number of candidates is relatively small. Many candidates find ways to move their household registration to other places while they are studying.
It is not allowed by policy, but because of this, the officials below have a lot of gray income, and most people turn a blind eye and get over it.
After arriving in the capital, after attending the Spring Festival, whether you can go to high school or not depends on your own abilities - forming cliques, paying homage to teachers, currying favor with the powerful... there are many ways.
It is extremely unfair to the truly poor students and the knowledgeable people who would rather suffer than surrender.
Zhang Jin even watched the excitement and was not afraid of the seriousness of the matter. He cited articles from the imperial examination six years ago to give his own experience.
"This is an article I wrote. It was an article I took part in the imperial examination six years ago, but I didn't expect that I lost my reputation. I originally thought it was because I was not good at learning and skills, but I didn't know that after I submitted the article to many places, the reply I got was not an article. problem."
"I spent all my money on the investigation, only to find that my test papers were missed. Until now, no one has given me an explanation. This clearly shows that the imperial examinations of the Great Zhou Dynasty were unfair!"
"If you want to arrest me today, you can give me an explanation first!"
Discussions broke out among the crowd, and the candidates who felt the same did not dare to openly oppose the imperial court, but silently blocked the way of the officers and soldiers.
Xie Yun stood in the middle, looking at the young people outside, stroking his beard and asked: "Have you heard of the candidate named Zhang Jin?"
Li Wei had been working abroad and didn't know much about things in the capital. This was the first time he heard this name, but he admired him very much.
"Young people are quite courageous, better than when I was young."
Yu Shibo served in the Imperial College, but I have heard people talk about it.
"His articles from back then have been read by my subordinates. Although they are not considered to be of the highest quality, their reputation is not lost. His character has not been lost in six years. He should be a talent that can be made."
Back then, Zhang Jinjin had a big fight with Zhuo Wen, the Minister of Rites, and Zhuo Wen sent people to drive him out of the capital.
His article was not remembered by anyone, but he left a deep impression on everyone.
"Go get his article and let me have a look."
Xie Yun was very interested in him. There was a commotion outside, and the boy couldn't hold it down. Yu Shibo personally came forward and asked for Li Wei's article.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Emperor, is wise and wise, possesses the virtues of civil and military sages, and inherits the great cause of the country..."
The rhetoric throughout the article is gorgeous, which is indeed the style of previous years.
Xie Yun praised: "Young man, it's not bad to be able to write such an article, but today is the imperial examination, how can you be allowed to make a noise here?"
Zhang Jin just couldn't stand the tricks used in the exam and wanted to take the opportunity to make things worse and use public opinion to blackmail the court.
He is not stupid, he will stop being in the limelight once he has had enough limelight.
"Students dare not, but it is true that these two adults seek personal gain through the imperial examination. The students believe that the original intention of the imperial examination in setting up the imperial examination is to select talents for the imperial court, but it is used by the people below as a tool to make money. The examiner also asked the examiner to watch the students count ten
It’s not easy to study hard at a young age, let’s give the students justice.”
He no longer mentioned what happened back then, no longer asked for explanations, but spoke out for the public, and instead won a lot of support.
Moreover, his troubles were watched by so many people and candidates, and the court could not do anything to him. Even if someone wanted to stumble him secretly, it was just a harmless little fight, and they could not touch his roots.
After causing a scene, he gained both fame and fortune.
"You are very smart..." Xie Yun praised him and patted him on the shoulder, "Take the test well. This time, your test paper will be reviewed by the three chief examiners in person."
"Thank you, sir!"
Xie Yun ordered: "Sir Yu, please personally watch the candidates entering to avoid further trouble."
It was the first time for the three of them to preside over the imperial examination. If there was another trouble in the future, the three of them would not be able to bear it. Yu Shibo responded and ordered the officers and soldiers with a straight face to temporarily detain the two officials who asked for bribes, and then interrogate and convict them later.
The most important thing right now is the exam.
The exam questions have not been announced yet, so after all the candidates calmed down, they were left with only nervousness and apprehension.
Shen Moran in the crowd praised: "No wonder you highly recommend him, he is smart, brave and resourceful, not bad."
Si Yiluo replied in a low voice: "It's not easy to get a compliment from you."
Shen Moran invited: "Looking for a place to chat?"
The nearby teahouse was already full, Si Yiluo didn't want to show his face, and it was not convenient for both of them to live there.
"I'll take you to a place."
Shen Moran took her through the alley and found a teahouse. Because of its remote location, there was only one private room left in the teahouse.
"Did you read the script I gave you?"
Shen Moran grabbed a handful of melon seeds and cracked them, and then Si Yiluo remembered her book. It seemed that she hadn't seen it again recently. The last memory of the book was that she threw it on the bed in the hotel room, and then completely forgot about it. about this matter.
She looked confused and had forgotten it at first sight. Shen Moran spit out the melon seed skin and said proudly: "It doesn't matter, this story is being told in this teahouse. Listen to it."
"Your tea, sir!"
As soon as the waiter's voice fell, there was a snap in the lobby on the first floor, and the noisy lobby fell silent for a moment.