Yang Tinghe came in person to inquire about etiquette matters, mentioning that the emperor was missing his hometown rites this year, as well as the ancestral temple offerings and other matters.
Mao Cheng, the Minister of Rites, handed over the list of candidates for the examination to Yang Tinghe for review. It was an informal request for instructions. After all, logically speaking, even if Yang Tinghe was the chief minister of the dynasty, he was not qualified to ask about the admission status of the examination.
.
Now the emperor is on a southern tour, and the cabinet scholars Liang Chu and Jiang Mian are accompanying him on the expedition. All affairs in the capital are decided by Yang Tinghe. This is different from the past when Yingzong went on an expedition and arranged for his younger brother to supervise the country. Yang Tinghe, the chief assistant, is equivalent to supervising the country, and the size of the capital is
As long as the matter does not involve the emperor's closest officials, he can make the decision.
Yang Tinghe looked at the long list, which not only listed the candidates' origin, place of origin, ranking and the Five Classics, but also specially marked some places with a red pen.
Yang Tinghe took a quick look and asked, "Is there anyone among them who is worthy of reuse?"
Mao Cheng smiled and said: "There are a few people who are already famous for their talents. For example, Yang Weicong, who ranked high in the examination, is a famous Confucian scholar in Shuntian Prefecture."
"Yang Weicong?"
Only then did Yang Tinghe notice the names on the list, but unfortunately he couldn't see any clues. He thought about it and asked, "But that Juren who is usually very close to Xiaoer Yongxiu?"
"Exactly."
Mao Cheng has nothing to avoid.
Yang Tinghe was a little worried at first, as if he felt that enrolling his son's friend as a Jinshi might lead to criticism, but then his expression became relieved. He probably felt that the government now needed "one of its own" to support the situation, so there was no need to worry too much.
Even though his expression changed quickly and was almost invisible, for an official like Mao Cheng, the change in Yang Tinghe's expression could not escape his eyes.
Mao Cheng added: "However, in this examination, most of the candidates from the South came to the top, especially those from Huguang. Four of the top five took up four seats. The person who ranked first in Nangong... was named Zhu Hao, who came from an army household.
At a young age of only fourteen years old, he has already won the first place in the provincial examination and the joint examination, and has gained a good reputation among scholars."
"Um?"
Yang Tinghe frowned.
A fourteen-year-old boy with a lot of fame?
How is this defined?
Mao Cheng was obviously just looking for an excuse. Did he want to tell Yang Tinghe that in fact, he had never heard of Zhu Hao before the exam, and no one cared about Jieyuan, who came from Huguang?
When the examination results were announced, I found out that a young man had been admitted as a member of the society?
Mao Cheng could only say that Zhu Hao was well-known, which made it appear that there would be no problem in enrolling in this examination.
"A military household in the land of Anlu?"
Yang Tinghe squinted his eyes and looked at Zhu Hao's profile.
In a few words, it only said that Zhu Hao came from a military family, and did not even list the origin of Jin Yiwei.
Mao Cheng introduced: "He is from the Zhu family of the Jinyiwei Qianhu family. His grandfather is Zhu Mingshan, the Jinyiwei Qianhu family who contributed to quelling the Lingnan rebellion. He fell off his horse and was bedridden for many years..."
Mao Cheng was familiar with the experience of serving thousands of Jin Yiwei, especially now that the Zhu family had a Jinshi, which required detailed investigation and review of relevant files. Mao Cheng, who was prepared in advance, could naturally explain the specific situation to Yang Tinghe.
"I have heard something. I heard that the late emperor asked his Zhu family to move to Anlu... It has been nearly thirty years now." Yang Tinghe said.
Mao Cheng smiled and said: "This Huiyuan is after Zhongliang."
Obviously Mao Cheng does not know the experience of Zhu Hao's father, otherwise the phrase "after Zhongliang" would be more accurate.
Yang Tinghe suddenly pointed to the column of Zhu Hao's father and asked: "What happened to his father?"
"He must have died. I don't know the specific circumstances." Mao Cheng told him frankly.
"Um."
Yang Tinghe nodded.
For courtiers, when they become officials in the future, they will have two experiences where they have to rest at home, namely, the death of their father and the death of their mother. Each time lasts for twenty-seven months, plus the time spent traveling back and forth, which is almost two and a half to three years.
A period of time can be regarded as compulsory rest, just like Yang Tinghe's two stay in the system were in the 12th year of Hongzhi and the 10th year of Zhengde. In the 12th year of Hongzhi, Yang Tinghe had not yet held an important position, but in the 10th year of Zhengde, he was already the chief assistant, and there were vacancies in the middle.
At that time, Liang Chu temporarily took over as chief assistant.
Therefore, for ordinary Jinshi, if one of the parents passes away before passing the Jinshi exam, it is equivalent to missing the opportunity for a long rest. It is the same as the issue of employers considering whether female employees should take maternity leave in the future. People in this era specifically mention their parents.
The question of whether it is still there is used as an alternative selection method.
Mao Cheng said: "Based on the comments of the two examiners on their examination papers, this man has extraordinary knowledge in classics and policy questions. He has great theories on governing the country and is quite talented. Perhaps because he was born in a military household, he has a lot of experience in the art of war."
For the sake of reading…”
He paused mid-sentence. Mao Cheng noticed that Yang Tinghe looked unhappy and swallowed back his compliments unconsciously.
The most taboo thing for civil servants in the Zhengde Dynasty was that the emperor was proficient in martial arts. If such a talented young man entered the court, he might have been adopted by the emperor for his own use early on. This is not a good sign.
"I am fourteen years old. I was born in Anlu. I was ranked Huiyuan in the examination. It seems that the level of knowledge of scholars in the Ming Dynasty no longer depends on their age."
When Yang Tinghe said this, his expression was serious and his tone was quite unpleasant.
Mao Cheng heard the amusing sarcasm in Yang Tinghe's words, and quickly changed the subject: "Peng Rushi, the fourth person in the examination, is from Jiading, Sichuan."
"oh?"
Yang Tinghe's attention was indeed attracted.
Yang Tinghe is originally from Jiangxi and has lived in Sichuan for a long time. The only non-Huguang candidate among the top five candidates in the examination is from Sichuan, which is equivalent to Yang Tinghe's hometown. He will naturally pay attention to it.
As for Zhu Hao being named Huiyuan, he put it aside for the time being.
The results have been announced. This is just a routine report. Even if Yang Tinghe has a thorn in his heart, it cannot change the result. If he really wants to suppress him, the worst he can do is brush his ranking down during the palace examination.
After discussing the situation of many candidates, Mao Cheng took the opportunity to ask his question: "Jie Fu, you see, this examination will use a fourteen-year-old boy as the first member. I'm afraid it will cause controversy among scholars all over the world. I wonder if this will damage the Ming Dynasty's ethical tradition.
...Waiting for the imperial examination..."
Yang Tinghe originally wanted to explain this problem to Mao Cheng, but Mao Cheng's way of asking for instructions clearly meant he was asking bluntly, should we suppress someone?
This is like a public declaration that we ministers have the power to decide who will be ranked as a Jinshi in the palace examination. This is very presumptuous, you know?
"Let everything take its course. Everyone depends on their abilities. If this boy is really talented and ranks first in the palace examination, can we still stop him?"
Yang Tinghe didn't want to get too entangled in such trivial issues.
If I say it too much, it will make people think that Yang Ting and I, Xiaodujichang, cannot tolerate a young man from Huguang who ranks high in the palace examination.
Even if I'm just talking to Mao Cheng now...
But people's hearts are apart, and Mao Cheng will not talk nonsense now. There is no guarantee that the conversation today will not be spread in the future. Then others will criticize Yang Tinghe for interfering in the selection of the emperor's disciples. This will cause a problem: this year's Jinshi
Are you a disciple of the emperor or a disciple of your Yang family?
Yang Tinghe was able to achieve his current status by being very cautious in what he said and doing, and it was impossible for anyone to say anything about him.
Mao Cheng nodded, as if he understood something, and did not dwell on such issues anymore.
…
…
It's already April in the blink of an eye.
According to the normal procedure, March 15th is the day when the imperial examination will be held. However, due to the absence of the emperor, a group of candidates became tribute scholars. They are still a little far away from being a Jinshi. Without the title of Jinshi, they cannot be released from official positions. They are still just like the candidates.
I can stay in the capital, but my mentality is obviously different from when I participated in the examination.
As long as nothing serious happened to their family during this year, and they did not suddenly become seriously ill or suffer from diarrhea, then even if the imperial examination was delayed, it would not change the process of their becoming a Jinshi.
But waiting is always painful.
Huguang Anluzhou City.
Zhu Hao has been away from home for more than half a year. In addition to the time when Zhu Hao took the provincial examination, Zhu Hao has not been at home for nearly a year. His family misses him very much.
Generally speaking, if the family is waiting for the news of the general examination, they will either fail and come back directly, or wait for the results of the palace examination to be released. Basically, there is no need to report the news separately in the general examination. The government will also wait for the results of the palace examination to come out and report the news together.
After all, there will be surprises in the palace examination. Even if you pass the Huiyuan examination, can you guarantee that you will get a good ranking in the palace examination? It would be bad if it makes a big mistake.
Besides, Gongshi is just the precursor to Jinshi. Passing the Gongshi exam does not mean that you will be ranked in the imperial class. Although Gongshi and Jinshi are only separated by the palace examination, there is a clear gap in status, just like actual officials and reserve officials.
, the treatment is obviously different.
But this year is different from previous years. There is only one general examination, and the palace examination has not been held yet. As a result, no one cares about the announcement of the general examination.
"It's already April, and there's not even any news. The last letter was last month. Xiaohao said in his letter that he was about to enter the examination room..."
Civil communication from the capital to Anlu was very slow, and people basically had to pick up letters along the way. The government post roads were not open to private use, so writing letters to hometowns in this era basically relied on fellow villagers. Is it possible to meet someone returning home by chance?
Two fellow villagers said that if something unexpected happened along the way, it would not be known how long it would take for the letter to arrive.
This is also one of the important reasons why people these days like to get together in foreign places. Only by getting close to fellow villagers can you find out about the situation in your hometown and have the opportunity to exchange letters with family members instead of hiring someone to deliver the letter alone.
The cost is huge.
"Madam, don't worry. Didn't you say that Mr. Tang is also in the capital? Are there people from Prince Xing's Mansion too? I heard that the current young prince of Prince Xing's Mansion is still stranded in the capital and has not returned. Master Hao does not have a very good relationship with the young prince.
Really?" Aunt Li said comfortingly.
Zhu Niang sighed: "I want to know how Xiaohao did in the exam. I am so worried..."
Aunt Li smiled and said: "Madam, the young master is only fourteen years old this year. To be able to pass the imperial examination at such a young age is already extraordinary. If he comes back from the imperial examination again, I am afraid that a real literary star will be born... Let's calm down.