It was already a bit cold in October in the capital, so people from the Hu Mansion gave him a set of blue cotton-padded jackets. However, Zhang Ning felt that the cotton-padded jackets were too thick to wear now and would have no upper body, so he still wore a moon-white straight turban with a square scarf.
When I got up early in the morning, the lame old man Yan came and said to Zhang Ning: "Mr. Hu is back. If Mr. Zhang has nothing else to do today, please come to the teahouse to see him."
"I'm quite free today, let's get over it." Zhang Ning cupped his hands and said, thinking that not only am I free today, but I am free every day.
"Sir, please." Yan Laobiao said angrily, stretched out his hand and made a sonorous and powerful movement, which made Zhang Ning suddenly feel that this man had the temperament of a martial artist.
Under Yan's guidance, Zhang Ning went out and walked along a corridor to the teahouse. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a man in his fifties already waiting inside, probably Hu Ying. I saw that Hu Ying looked like He has a broad face, a square forehead, and a tall figure. His sitting posture and expression make him look upright and upright. His temples are already gray, and he has a thick gray beard. He is wearing a linen robe. He does not have the elegant temperament of a Taoist priest, but he has an official look. Qi. This man had a square face and an upright body. According to Zhang Ning's eyes, he was not very good-looking, but he knew that such a face was truly a top-notch face in the Ming Dynasty.
"Ping An is here, sit down." Hu Ying kindly pointed to the chair below.
Such a sentence made Zhang Ning feel slightly flattered. He had lived in his house for more than a month and had never seen Hu Laobiao, a minister in charge of the court, and he could feel that kind of feeling when he met him. The high-ranking official was so majestic and domineering, and he suddenly spoke so kindly and politely to a commoner like him, which inevitably made him feel quite good.
Zhang Ning didn't dare to pretend to be a show-off, because others would be embarrassed, so he hurriedly bowed his hands respectfully and said, "Common man Zhang Ning, please see Mr. Hu."
Hu Ying sat down and nodded slightly, saying: "You are no longer a commoner. The commander of the Jinyi Guards received the imperial edict yesterday and personally released your teacher Lu Shilang from the imperial prison and reinstated him. If Lu Shilang is not guilty, you will not For the crime of accepting bribes, the previous punishment of being deprived of your honorary title will naturally be withdrawn; now you at least have the title of civil servant, and then Shilang Lu will use your provincial examination papers to retry you, and it is very possible to restore your honorary title."
Zhang Ning was immediately overjoyed! Hu Ying was the Minister of Rites, and the nominal teacher Lu Zhen was the Deputy Minister of Education. Zhang Ning was a teacher and student in distress who was lying in a ditch with his old man and was shot. The two of them wanted to Isn't it just a matter of minutes to restore his reputation as a civil servant?!
He was about to sit down just now, but before his butt touched the chair, he stood up again and bowed deeply: "Please accept my bow from the students, and thank you Sir Hu for upholding justice for my mentor."
Hu Ying waved her hand: "It doesn't have to be like this. The emperor is the one who upholds justice. Keshu and I were officials in the same dynasty, and I'm just telling you the truth." After saying that, he glanced at Old Biao Yan inside the door, who was lame. He walked over slowly and put a few ingots of silver on the coffee table. Hu Ying said: "Ping An must have been in a hurry when he came to the capital. You don't have to refuse these silver coins. I think you are giving them to me as a pity."
"Thank you, Mr. Hu." Zhang Ning did not refuse as expected. Indeed, he did not have to pay for living expenses now. For the sake of others, he did not need to waste Mr. Hu's words with false politeness.
Hu Ying asked again: "There will be a general examination in March next year. Does Ping An plan to go home or stay in the capital and wait for the examination?"
Examination for Gongshi and Jinshi? According to Zhang Ning, the admission rate for the Gongshi examination is less than 5%. That is to say, only one of twenty talented and learned people with the title of Gongshi can pass the examination. The competition among people from the south will be even greater.
(Those who passed the examination were Gongshi, and then they were tested as Jinshi in the palace examination. There was no chance of failure in the palace examination, only high or low rankings.) Zhang Ning used to be very arrogant, but now Zhang Ning is much more sensible: Don’t talk about the world’s most talented people.
1. According to his 21-year-old cultivation, there is also luck in being successful in the Nanzhili examination. As for Jinshi, you really have to look at the ancestral graves; according to past examples, very few young people will be successful in the Jinshi immediately after the second year.
They are generally genius-level people. Even Zhang Juzheng, the genius of the Ming Dynasty, failed to pass the exam several times. You can guess that Fan Jin only passed the exam at a much older age.
Zhang Ning's judgment is: the chance of getting on the list for next year's national examination is zero. It was originally close to zero, but because of what happened this time, the examiners must avoid suspicion. Besides, Zhang Ning is young and they may think that he failed the first time.
It's normal; but now he has no interest in studying the Four Books and Eight-part essay, and I'm afraid he won't be able to write any good Eight-part essay next year. So he feels that there is no chance of passing the exam.
So he told the truth: "The student has no intention of pursuing a scientific career."
His temporary plan is to see if he can make some connections with Lu Zhen, and then use his reputation as a county magistrate to become a county magistrate or deputy magistrate.
If you don't become a Jinshi, it doesn't matter if you step back and say you don't want to be an official. There is property and land in your hometown, and you have the reputation of being a civil servant. It is not difficult to live a comfortable life.
"Oh?" Hu Ying was a little surprised when she heard this. Young scholars who have been in poverty for about ten years are full of hopes to become Jinshi. Zhang Ning is a scholar at the age of 21. It is indeed unusual not to continue the imperial examination. Hu Ying couldn't help but
I asked one more time: "You really didn't intend to take the imperial examination?"
Zhang Ning said calmly: "Yes." Obviously, there is no possibility of a joke in front of the Minister of Education.
Hu Ying touched her beard and said, "Then do you have any plans to become an official?"
Zhang Ning said: "If you have the opportunity to serve the country, would you dare to disobey?"
Hu Ying smiled and nodded, pondered for a moment and said: "There happens to be a number of official vacancies. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will be interviewing candidates in a few days. You can go and report first. I said, if Ping An is talented, it will not be a big problem to fill up a position.
"
"This..." Zhang Ning was surprised and looked at the money on the coffee table, "Students really don't know what to do."
Hu Ying laughed loudly: "I gave you the money, you didn't bribe me, so even if you fill the gap, you can't say that I sold you the official porridge."
Zhang Ning suddenly felt that something was not right. Cousin Hu was neither a relative nor a friend. It was even more nonsense to cherish talents. There were so many people in the world that even he did not realize that he was talented. This second-level official was too enthusiastic about an unknown person.
point.
According to Zhang Ning's conjecture, Hu Ying probably took a fancy to her relationship with Lu Zhen or even Yang Shiqi. Although she was an insignificant role there, it was precisely because of this that Hu Ying invested without risk, and it was a small-cost investment.
Twelve taels of silver and a word from the official department were nothing to him... We can't blame Zhang Ning for judging a gentleman's heart with a villain's heart. Other second-rank officials are not idle all day long doing charity.
Zhang Ning quickly thanked him.
Hu Ying then said sincerely: "Young and safe, we must guard against arrogance and impetuosity and be down-to-earth and do something practical for the country and the people."
"Remember Master Hu's teachings," Zhang Ning said with cupped hands.
At this time, Hu Ying picked up the tea cup, and Zhang Ning stood up and left in time.
Back in the room, he packed up his things and said goodbye to Mr. Yan, preparing to move out of the Hu Mansion. Giving the money itself meant having to pay for it, and staying here was meaningless. The cheating case in the examination room was also It's over for now, and now I'm afraid no one is thinking about Zhang Ning anymore. Originally, their target was Lu Zhen.
There was nothing to deal with. Zhang Ning was already alone when he came to the capital. Now he only had two more sets of clothes and twenty taels of silver. He could just pack a bag and leave.
Find a place to stay first, and an inn is the best choice. Wenmingmen (Chongwenmen) is in the East City and is not far from Jinyu Hutong. The south is an area with more people and consumer goods are of high quality and low price, so Zhang Ning went there first to look for them. Inn. Because there is the Imperial City in the middle of Beijing, and there is no road between the East and West City. It is impossible for everyone to pass through the Imperial Palace, so it is quite a circuit to get to the West City. He went to Mingshifang and found an inn in Chuanban Hutong. Settlement.
The room is not expensive. Living alone in a room costs one hundred and twenty taels per day, and it also includes breakfast and evening meals. Hu Ying's payment of 20 taels is not stingy. It is half a year's salary for an average person. At this time, one tael of silver can be exchanged for gold. The old copper coins were 1,500 yuan, and one tael of silver could live with him for less than half a month.
The next most important thing is to pay a visit to his teacher Lu Zhen. He has just come out of prison, so he has to say hello. Of course, according to traditional etiquette, he has to give some supplements or something, and the grade cannot be too low. The Ming Dynasty also They can't help but give gifts. Sometimes when local officials come to Beijing to pay filial piety to teachers, they give money directly. Some money can be collected. Therefore, some officials are indeed very honest but not poor at all. They have power and class but are still extremely poor. , most likely he is not a person with a mental disorder like Hai Rui, or he must be putting on a show... Besides, it is not difficult for Hai Rui to support a large family by himself later on. He may be mainly saving on "reciprocity."
Zhang Ning went to a medicinal material store to buy ginseng and found that the price of high-quality Shanxi Shangdang ginseng was ten taels of silver per tael, which was twice as expensive as gold at that time. Of course there were cheaper ones, but Lu Zhen was an official in the Ministry of Rites Minister, would anyone else eat ginseng that looks like a radish? Good things come in pairs. Two ginseng sticks were packaged for more than sixteen taels... I gritted my teeth and bought it.
In an instant, he went from a household of 10,000 yuan to abject poverty. However, Minister Hu Ying was a man of his word, and Lu Zhen would not just sit idly by and become an official anyway. As far as he knew, a new official could receive 50 yuan from the Ministry of Personnel. The two-an household allowance is not counted as salary. The Zhu family is relatively stingy. Compared with previous dynasties, officials are paid less. Unlike the scholar-bureaucrats in the Song Dynasty who could easily earn hundreds of thousands or millions a year, they are still more humane and considerate: they have just become an official. They are usually minor officials, and many of them are extremely poor. If they are given fifty taels to spend first, they will still be tens of thousands of dollars at any rate.
After buying the ginseng, Zhang Ning planned to spend more than 100 yuan a day in the inn, eating and drinking while waiting for money to settle down.
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