Chapter 28 The dragon enters the imperial city, and the storm rises everywhere
Dajia Lubu entered the city. At this moment, in an inn in the capital, a group of scholars were more excited than others.
"The new king will finally take over. Everyone, it has been more than a year!"
It is said that one of the three great joys in life is when one is named on the gold list. This group of scholars had already experienced the ecstasy last year: they were all winners in the rites examination in the fifteenth year of Zhengde.
But after the ecstasy, there was more than a year of depression: because the emperor visited the south and became seriously ill after returning, the palace examination that was supposed to be held after the examination of the Ministry of Rites has been postponed until now.
They will no longer be expelled from the palace examination, and all of them are already quasi-jinshi, but their current status is still just a Gongsheng student, and they have not been sued.
"The Talent Recruitment Ceremony is a first-class event, and the imperial examination must be scheduled next month." One of them smiled and teased another thin scholar, "Brother Cai Bo, your bad luck has come to an end. Liang Ge
I have always admired your talent and learning, and you two are from the same hometown. This time, Liang Ge, who is seventy years old, went to Anlu to welcome the new king. All he has to do is mention your name to His Majesty, and Brother Caibo will rise to the top.
It’s no big deal.”
The scholar waved his hand with some embarrassment: "Mr. Liang Ge is just pity for the twists and turns of his academic career. Which ranking he gets in the imperial examination and what position he will be awarded temporarily will still depend on his articles and ranking."
"Blessings and misfortunes depend on each other!" The Gongsheng students are not only excited about the palace examination finally being held, "It is extremely rare for His Majesty to succeed the feudal prince as the crown prince! Although we are Gongsheng students of Zhengde Xinsike, we will be His Majesty.
The first person to get a Jinshi! I have always been an emperor and a courtier..."
The Gongsheng who was called Brother Caibo was named Huang Zuo. He and Liang Chu were both from Guangzhou.
Now thirty-one, Huang Zuo has become a talented young man. The private school teacher who initiated him when he was six years old said that he had nothing to teach him and asked him to go home and study on his own. At the age of eleven, he completed the homework before the imperial examination, but after that he officially entered the imperial examination.
The road to the exam has been a rough time for nearly twenty years.
He was already the leader of the case in the college examination, but due to the grievances between the two school inspectors, he was retaken in the college examination. Huang Zuo, the leader of the case, was the only one who was not allowed to take the exam.
Later, he learned about the Yuan Dynasty in the provincial examination, but how far is Guangzhou from the capital? Huang Zuo did not catch up with the examination of the Ministry of Rites in the spring of the next year.
I took the exam again three years later, but my father passed away halfway through and I returned home to observe mourning.
The next subject was taken again. This time he was ill and could not continue in the middle of the exam. Huang Zuo felt discouraged, but it was Liang Chu who encouraged him, a fellow countryman, to take the subject again.
Then came last year, and this time I was even more speechless: Huang Zuo's road guide was lost, and he could not participate in the examination according to regulations. If Mao Cheng, the Minister of Rites, had not made a special exception, Huang Zuo would have been delayed for another three years.
I finally became a Gongsheng student with 18th place, but the imperial examination was delayed again and again.
During this period of time, Huang Zuo was nicknamed the nemesis of Ke Dao by countless fellow students who either ridiculed or complained.
Now the opportunity was finally coming. Huang Zuo sat by the window and looked at the moving emperor's guard of honor in the distance, and at the people among them who were dressed in red, green and green official uniforms.
When he went to pay homage to Liang Chu after high school last year, Huang Zuo knew that he had been placed at the top of the list, but later he had objections and was changed to the 18th place.
At this moment, Huang Zuo sincerely hoped that this new king would be a bole.
…
In the large chariot room, the bachelors of the Hanlin Academy also looked at the chariot in front of them with different expressions.
Bachelors and shujishi in the Hanlin Academy are of low rank, but the talent reserve has always been reserved for the best in each subject. As a close official of the emperor, after the establishment of the cabinet, a de facto threshold has been formed over the years: those who are not in the Hanlin Academy cannot enter.
Enter the cabinet.
Now that the new king is about to ascend the throne, the relationship between emperor and courtier will be more vividly reflected in this emperor who was originally the prince of the vassal.
Among the four cabinet ministers, Yang Tinghe is sixty-three, Liang Chu is seventy, and Jiang Mian and Mao Ji are both fifty-eight.
In a few years, I don’t know how many opportunities will appear in the court.
Now these Hanlin scholars are all trying to figure out what kind of articles Xinjun likes, what kind of people he admires, and what kind of knowledge he admires.
For a fifteen-year-old emperor, a sutra feast is indispensable. In addition to important ministers giving lectures, Hanlin Academy bachelors also have the opportunity to attend readings and lectures!
Among these people, there is also a man who has just turned forty.
He was Yan Song, who ranked second in the second class and fifth overall in the 18th year of Hongzhi. At that time, he entered the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi.
But then Emperor Zhengde ascended the throne and Liu Jin gained power over the world. Yan Song retired from office and returned to his hometown, staying in Fenyi County, his hometown of Yuanzhou Prefecture, for ten years.
Yang Tinghe, the examiner in the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign, invited him to resume his duties, but he refused.
Some people say that he was just looking after him, but he understood the dangers of the court at that time.
When the eunuchs gained power and the emperor was biased against civil servants, it was really not a good time to work hard. As a disciple of Yang Tinghe, Yan Song would probably be at the forefront of the charge.
Even though the power of the eunuchs had been suppressed a lot five years ago, he agreed when Yang Tinghe invited him to reinstate him. After returning to Beijing, he only stayed in the noble Hanlin Academy.
But now, Yan Song's mind finally came to life. Yang Tinghegui was the first assistant and it was his support. In the past month or so, he had eliminated bad government and suppressed the power of the eunuchs with great force, which was quite impressive.
The most important thing is that Yan Song is already forty years old!
After so many years of accumulation, how long can he wait?
…
When Dajia Lubu was about to arrive in front of the Daming Gate, in a small courtyard in the Xizhimen of the capital, the owner Zhang Ji knelt down in the courtyard tremblingly and asked tremblingly: "I don't know if the heavenly official is here, the students are so disrespectful, and the humble house is shabby. I don't know...
…”
"Zhang Xiucai, you can't do this. Our family is not here to announce the decree." The man in eunuch clothes helped him up with a smile, "Zhang Xiucai also knows that His Majesty is about to ascend the throne. We, the slaves, are
Yes, you have to help the master think things over first. The Queen Mother has ordered the servants to pre-select some ladies in the capital. I heard that your daughter is very beautiful and well-educated. I wonder if you can let our family see her first?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ji's face suddenly changed drastically, and he replied hesitantly: "How can a little girl with such a lowly appearance be able to enter the eyes of the heavenly family? This heavenly official..."
The eunuch's face darkened, and then he said with a smile: "Zhang Xiucai, he just pre-selected some ladies. Our family is following the Queen Mother's decree. Zhang Xiucai knows that if a daughter with both talent and beauty is selected, she will be selected into the palace next year.
There is a great chance that my mother will be honored by the world. Then Zhang Xiucai will be indispensable for being an earl."
How could Zhang Ji have any room to refuse in front of the people arranged by the Queen Mother herself?
He knew where this disaster had begun.
Over the past year, many servants from powerful families have come several times, but Zhang Xiucai has excused them with the excuse that his wife has died and his daughter is still in the period of filial piety.
There has been no solution for this period of time. How can he, a talented scholar who has failed many times, compete with those powerful people?
Just thinking that his precious daughter would be taken as a concubine by those notorious dignitaries, Zhang Xiucai was unwilling to do so in every possible way.
I don’t know which relative or friend saw the filial daughter at the funeral of his deceased wife, and the news spread.
Unexpectedly, the news has now spread to the palace.
Zhang Qinghe, who was confused and frightened, was extremely uncomfortable being stared at by the eunuch for a while. After his uneasy father sent the people out, he asked in fear: "Father, what happened?"
Zhang Ji sighed sadly and looked at his fourteen-year-old daughter who was already beautiful and beautiful.
There is glory and wealth in the harem, but it is also extremely dangerous.
Now it was Empress Dowager Zhang who sent people to pre-select the ladies. There was no doubt that she wanted to select some with outstanding looks so that they could later influence the new monarch who was not her biological son. There was no telling how many unpredictable dangers there would be.
Zhang Ji knew that with his daughter's talent and appearance, it would be difficult to escape this disaster.
The most important thing is that my daughter's reputation has been vaguely spread among the people. If the draft really starts next year, Shuntian Mansion will also come, right?
He only regretted that he had not arranged a good marriage for his daughter earlier.
"Father...could it be...a talent show?" Zhang Qinghe was smart. Seeing his father's expression, and thinking of the eunuch just now, his fair face became even whiter.
Zhang Ji covered his face in fear: "It's too late... I've already been included in the list. It's still a pre-selection ordered by the Queen Mother. Even if you want to hide, you will anger the Queen Mother."
Although Zhang Qinghe is both talented and beautiful, this big change also left her at a loss.
Zhang Ji's guess was correct. Ever since it was confirmed that Zhu Houcong would be made emperor, Empress Dowager Zhang had already arranged for the pre-selection of ladies.
As Zhu Houcong approached the Daming Gate step by step, some of the people who had been contacted in advance were ecstatic, some were surprised, and some were extremely frightened.
Who cares only about their daughter's future happiness, but who doesn't know that the Forbidden City is a giant beast devouring life?
Now, Zhu Houcong passed through Daming Gate and entered the imperial city.
Directly in front of him was the Chengtian Gate that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.