He was drilled to death during the day and had to copy books at night. For Zhang Zongsuo, these days were really exhausting. Since the first day when he used the prince to show off his power, Xu Xun had never targeted him.
But Qian Ning, who was named by Xu Xun as the military commander because he was the best in drills, was extremely strict. He had no chance of slacking off. But Qian Ning had the power of punishment given by Xu Xun, and he punished the others from standing to military sticks.
No wait, the only word for these young masters is copying books. Unfortunately, he was so exhausted during the day that he had to copy books at night, and in the end his hands were almost broken.
Xu Yanche and Qi Jiliang are not much better than Zhang Zongshuo. One of them is strictly ordered by his father, and the other thinks he is Dai Zuili. They practice quite seriously, but after all they do not have the physical strength of those junior officials. They copy seven or eight more copies every night.
It is always inevitable to write a book of 3 pages. Only Wang Shikun has Qian Ning to take care of him, and after all, he is a few years older, so he is very sparse, but after all, he has learned it. He said he would copy three or four pages of the book every night, but
She can still manage to go to bed on time. But this time, there are only fifteen people in total, one room per person, and they are not allowed to leave the room once the door is closed at night. There are people patrolling outside, and no one knows how others are doing.
In the next half month, because Xu Xun did not live in the palace, he traveled in and out of the palace every day. From Shouning Marquis Zhang Heling to Ding Guogong Xu Guangzuo to Princess Renhe, these three families often came to inquire about the situation.
He only dealt with it in a perfunctory manner, focusing mainly on whether the imperial court would send troops and the progress of Wang Shouren's young army. Even after the holidays, the 500 prefectural army advance guards were transferred to the old regimental barracks outside Andingmen, and were escorted by various troops every day.
The commander-in-chief led the training, and he only went to see it every other day. When all 2,000 people, including the previous 15 households, were packed into the barracks, he immediately devoted himself to it.
After all, the last time Xiyuan trained with 500 people, it was already an exception. It is absolutely impossible for two thousand people to be brought into Xiyuan this time. And the barracks and school grounds outside Andingmen are not like the palace where there are only a lot of people around the eunuchs.
Shi was even more anxious. If he really wanted to find something wrong, he and Wang Shouren would be in a lot of trouble. However, after a few days, although the officers and soldiers were not getting along well, he found that the number of people watching the excitement gradually decreased.
.
"Did those censors finally realize that there are other serious things?"
At lunch that day, when he heard Xu Xun's muttering, Wang Shouren said angrily: "That's because there is another important matter in the Huaji Sect, and there is no time to worry about us anymore. The examination has already started.
The chief examiner and the examiners of each room are all focused on not staring at them but here. Those department officials are not putting the cart before the horse. With their temperament, they always look forward to something if nothing happens, not to mention that this time it coincides with the meeting.
In the exam year, of course, I hope there will be another big case of fraud in the scientific examination in the twelfth year of Hongzhi!"
It turns out that it’s the end of February in the blink of an eye, and it’s about to start another year of competition!
Only then did Xu Xun remember this, and he was secretly glad that he could temporarily avoid those intent eyes during the training of the two thousand new troops. However, although he was very sparse in reading the Four Books and Five Classics, he had no idea about the power of these three-year-old troops.
However, he was very interested and immediately asked: "Who is taking the exam this year?"
"They are Zhang Yuanzhen, the minister of Taichang Temple and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and Yang Tinghe, a bachelor of Zuo Chunfang and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy." Yuan.
Fu Rong had previously sent his confidant Jing Bu Le to accompany him to Beijing. Although Xu Xun was not familiar with all the civil and military matters, he still had some understanding of most of these famous people. Zhang Yuanzhen was just that, but the name Yang Tinghe was well known to him.
Wasn't he the one who personally sent Emperor Jiajing to the throne, and then was ousted by the emperor because of a dispute over great etiquette? And if based on some in-depth rumors from later generations, some people even say that the death of Zhengde was related to this.
The head of the civil service cannot escape the relationship. Take today as an example, this person is also a serious member of the Eastern Palace.
He just thought about it in his mind. He squinted his eyes slightly and said with a smile: "I don't know who will be lucky enough to win the top prize in this list. I have studied hard for decades, and it depends on my performance in these few days.
It’s really more difficult than crossing a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops.”
"Your analogy is quite appropriate." Wang Shouren himself had tried it three times and walked on the single-plank bridge three times. Naturally, he had a deep understanding of this. After squinting his eyes and recalling the past for a while, he suddenly counted with his fingers, and then he
He stood up and said, "I just remembered that today is February 18th, and it is also the last test of this competition. I made an appointment with a friend to pick him up when he leaves the tribute courtyard. I have to leave first today."
Got it!"
"Just go, it doesn't matter if the military class tonight is suspended for one day. It's rare for the people below to be lazy and it's too late to be happy!"
Seeing Wang Shouren standing up and walking out in a hurry as he spoke, Xu Xun didn't take it to heart and just said this casually. However, Wang Shouren had already reached the confession door, but suddenly turned back and looked at Xu Xun and said: "
I forgot, it is said that Nanjian Jiu Zhangweng has a half-master friendship with you?"
"How do you know?" Xu Xun didn't expect that even Wang Shouren would hear about this, and he was very surprised.
"Don't worry about how I know, whether there is one or not?"
"That's right.
However, I was just lucky enough to stay at Mr. Zhang’s house for a month to recover from my injuries. He gave me two boxes of books and offered wine to the North Prison to thank Mr. Zhang for recommending me.” Xu Xun sighed when he thought of Tao Hong who hurried south not long ago.
He said in a tone of voice, "I just heard a few days ago that Mr. Zhang is widowed, so I sent a boy from home to go south to have a look."
"That's good! My friend studied in Nanjing for more than half a year because of Zhang Weng's appreciation. He was also called Mr. Zhang Wengyiyi. He just arrived in the capital in early February. It was also because of Mr. Li Ge that I stayed with him in Wenzhou.
We met at the party, so I guess he knows about Zhang Weng’s current situation. If you are free, why not come with me to meet him?”
Xu Xun had written two letters to Zhang Mao before arriving in the capital, but after three months of military training in Xiyuan, he could no longer take care of it. This time, he asked Tao Hong to bring the letter back. At this time, Wang Shouren said he wanted to see
For such a person, he immediately stood up, nodded without saying a word and said: "Okay, then I will go and make arrangements for tonight, and then I will follow you into the city!"
It was evening, and the street in front of the Gongyuan in the east of the capital was already packed with people. It had been nine days since the exam started on February 9th, and all the candidates coming from north to south gathered in such a Gongyuan to take the exam.
It was almost impossible to get out of the room. Now that we have finally reached the end, the family members waiting outside were naturally excited. After looking forward to it for a long time, I don’t know who shouted that the Gongyuan was open, and all I saw was a lot of mobile phones.
The candidates for the exams came out in a flurry, and there was a sudden uproar.
Wang Shouren was a person who had taken the exam three times. Of course he knew that if he wanted to meet someone at this time, he couldn't just wait. Therefore, he didn't wait downstairs with Xu Xun at all, but reserved the second floor of a restaurant next to Gongyuan.
Sitting in a private seat, he only watched and waited at the window. Since he was proficient in archery, his eyesight was naturally very good. After looking down from a high position for a short time, he saw the leisurely middle-aged man Shi Shiran walking with his hands behind his back in the crowd. For a moment,
Then he shouted: "Brother Yuan Ming!"
The middle-aged man below looked up and recognized the person at the window as Wang Shouren. He nodded and smiled and walked through the crowd to the door of the restaurant. After a while, he went upstairs with the examination basket and entered the banquet.
In addition to Wang Shouren, there was another strange young man. He was slightly startled and then said with a smile: "But Prince Xing'an?"
"Exactly, it is really reckless to bother Mr. Zhan."
"No, no, the name of the Crown Prince is so loud. I've been curious about it for a long time. I don't want to meet you today because of Wang Bo'an's blessing. As for the fact that I can't bear the word "Mr.", the Crown Prince calls me Zhan Yuanming.
It’s not a bad idea for Lao Zhan.”
"Then I'll take a big advantage and call Brother Zhan! It's just the word Prince, please put it away, Brother Zhan."
"Okay, that's how it should be!" Zhan Ruoshui smiled heartily, put down the test basket and met each other, then moved his chair and sat down. He picked up the teapot, filled it with tea and drank half a cup at a time. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "
These nine days were really difficult, and I could hardly even drink hot tea. Fortunately, it didn't rain, so I finally got through it."
When Wang Shouren saw this, he couldn't help but joked: "I know you don't want to take the exam, so you are forced to go to Liangshan!"
Xu Xun also listened to Wang Shouren's explanation on the road and realized that the person he came to see today was Zhan Ruoshui from Guangdong. According to Wang Shouren, Zhan Ruoshui studied under the famous Chen Xianzhang. In order to study, he even burned the road to follow Mr. Baisha.
After taking charge of Jiangmen Diaotai, he served three years of mourning for the death of Chen Xianzhang. This time he reluctantly came to the capital to take the exam under the double persuasion of his mother and an official from Guangzhou Prefecture.
idea. But compared to these, what really shocked him was because he remembered that among the famous masters of mind science in the Ming Dynasty in later generations, apart from Wang Shouren, it was Zhan Ruoshui. Both of them had many disciples. Although Zhan's reputation was weaker than
The king can still be said to be a great master!
"Bo'an, it's good that you know. Don't tell Mr. Li Ge, otherwise you will let him down."
At this time, seeing Zhan Ruoshui saying this with a smile, Xu Xun raised his glass and said, "That's what Mr. Zhan said, but things in this world often backfire. Although you don't want to pass the exam, I'm afraid this time
But it’s a sure win.”
Wang Shouren also smiled and said: "That's right, the two examiners today are both humble gentlemen with a keen eye for talents and a discerning eye. As Prince Xu said, I bet you will win!"
Zhan Ruoshui drank Xu Xunjing's cup with tea instead of wine. Hearing Wang Shouren's words, he couldn't help but smile: "Hey, my uncle, aren't you deliberately trying to seduce me? Although I want to go back to my hometown to teach quietly,
But if I fail the bet with you, wouldn’t it mean that the two chief examiners of this subject are ignorant of the truth? To be honest, it would be fine if I failed the exam. If I am lucky enough to pass, I have been obsessed with books these years.
I know nothing about practical matters, so I just hope that I can be admitted to the Hanlin Academy, so that I can read widely, continue to study knowledge intensively, teach and educate people well, and don't let the people down!"
Becoming a Jinshi or studying in the Hanlin Academy was originally the lifelong expectation of countless scholars, but it was unexpected to be told by Zhan Ruoshui.