Chapter 338 The Eunuch Controls the Situation Secretly
Li Guolou's family was in the capital, and because he had an official position, he did not live in the tribute courtyard like other Jinshi. Instead, he rushed to Xihua Gate alone and waited to enter the Forbidden City with the 279 Jinshi. The most important test paper in his life.
The sky was not yet bright. Li Guolou took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was not five o'clock yet. Standing here in the open terrain, the morning breeze coming from Haizi in the north was cool, damp and cold, and it made him shiver. The original uneasy tension was eliminated. I was not late. The other Jinshi had not arrived yet. A person stood alone in front of the wall photo and looked at the palace gate. Inside, the light corridors were crisscrossed. The palace buildings were like paper-cuts stuck on the white background of a fish belly. Above the sky, there are palace lanterns hanging high along the north and south walls of the yellow palace wall. Below stands the military academy of Shanpu Camp. None of them move. They are quite like Weng Zhong standing on both sides of the mausoleum tomb. To the west are The open square and the vast open space are hazy. The residential buildings in the distance are too far away to see clearly. On the contrary, the water color in the northwest direction forms a line. The water color is sparkling and undulating. The swaying waves reveal the graceful shadow of willows. The swinging willow branches are graceful and charming in their posture, which is alluring and captivating.
Further north is a peach orchard. It is invisible. But it is when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The strong fragrance of the flowers is blown by the wind. The cool and sweet fragrance is very pleasant. Li Guolou took a deep breath. It was refreshing. The fragrance made people feel relaxed and happy. His originally groggy mind suddenly became clear-eyed and calm. He couldn't help but squinted his eyes slightly, trying to see through the haze in the morning light.
The eight military officers from Shanpu Camp unlocked the huge lock of the palace door and slowly opened the palace door. The pleasing movement made Li Guolou not notice that the brigade of Jinshi were neatly arranged from far to near. The red light of the morning reflected the tallness of Li Guolou. Her figure, her rectangular pink face, her brows like golden clouds, and her smiling expression have made her think of military schools with fancy and beautiful movements. But the army is vulnerable to a single blow, which makes people sigh.
"Li Guolou, get in line at the back of the queue." Teacher Mao Changxi shouted loudly. I have never seen such a determined person. He actually watched the military school doing exercises at the palace gate. He was fascinated by it.
"It's teacher." Li Guolou was shocked. How could he be distracted at this moment? He quickly ran to the back of the two columns.
The examiner Li Hongzao, standing at the front of the team, stroked his beard with a smile on his face. Li Guolou is a unique person. He is a maverick. He came to Xihuamen by himself. He has a good image and stands at the back of the team. He I also believe that it will make Emperor Tongzhi notice Li Guolou.
Study knowledge, give lectures, and teach apprentices. You must endure loneliness and poverty. As an imperial teacher, Li Hongzao not only taught Emperor Tongzhi and other royal children in Yuqing Palace, but also lectured in the Hanlin Academy. Being the examiner of scientific examinations is a blessing. Pampering is also a blessing.
As the 280 Jinshi disciples, they all have to come to apprentice and thank their mentor Li Hongzao for winning them. They also have to give a apprenticeship ceremony. It is said to become rich overnight. This is the case for Jinshi. The same is true for the examiner Li Hongzao. The 280 students in this subject Being a Jinshi was Li Hongzao's lifelong capital. These students had to visit their teachers and wives when they were promoted, celebrated the New Year, or even passed through Li Hongzao's hometown. Therefore, the lifelong dream of those academicians in the Hanlin Academy was to be the examiner of a scientific examination or to retire. The next best thing is that the room master is enough.
Li Hongzao served as the examiner of the scientific examination. Emperor Tongzhi wanted to use him so that he could gain political capital and have a group of disciples who obeyed his instructions. This was a symbol of Li Hongzao's entry into the court. It was also the beginning of Emperor Tongzhi's desire to take sole control of power.
There is a big advantage in walking at the end of the queue. No one will notice. Unlike the people in front of him, Li Guolou lowers his head one by one and looks at the floor tiles while walking. He doesn't even dare to take a breath. Instead, he looks left and right and looks up at the scenery in the palace. Li Guolou didn't care about the eunuchs and palace maids standing on the roadside who stared at him angrily. He treated his subordinates like an official and nodded slightly to let the eunuchs and palace maids see that he was an official.
Etiquette for meeting the emperor. More than 200 Jinshi had already studied in Gongyuan. They came to Qianqing Palace and arranged in order. Li Guolou was still at the back. There were black heads in front. The desks for writing articles had not yet been laid out. .There is only a dragon chair placed high in the empty hall.
There is a curtain hanging on the right side of the dragon chair. The curtains of the empress dowagers of the two palaces have not been removed. This symbolizes Ci'an, the empress dowager of the east palace, and Cixi, the empress dowager of the west palace, is still uneasy about the Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun who has given the crown ceremony. They guard the last step for the emperor. A group of people Senior officials in court uniforms lined up in sequence, standing on both sides of the hall. The atmosphere was solemn but silent.
The chime bell rang. It sounded sweet and sweet. It rang for the third time. The male duck's voice said: "The empress of the East Palace has arrived. The empress of the West Palace has arrived. The emperor has arrived. All the ministers knelt down to greet him."
The Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun, who still has a childlike look on his face, is wearing a dragon robe embroidered with nine golden dragons, twelve Eastern beads hanging around his neck, and a satin crown on his head. He first held a ceremony to invite the queen mothers of the two palaces to take their seats, and then took his seat on the dragon chair. .
After three kowtows and nine obeisances, Zai Chun said to the more than 200 Jinshi who were still kneeling: "You are the pillars of the country. The purpose of the country's recruitment of scholars is to select you. Today you come to Qianqing Palace. .Don't be flustered. Just like when you were studying in Gongyuan, write the article calmly and show your true level. I have high hopes for you 280 Jinshi. The future of the Qing Dynasty depends on you. I am thinking. You have been working hard for more than ten years. You are a little nervous when you come to the Forbidden City for the first time. Don’t be afraid. Test your true level..."
From the beginning to the end, Li Guolou had no chance to look up and see what Emperor Tongzhi looked like. After thanking him, Li Hongzao said another encouraging words. Then a group of eunuchs placed 280 tables. Li Guolou was killed by an eunuch. From the last row to the front row, stand next to the seats on the left side. Others have also been disrupted. They are no longer seated according to their height. There is a bamboo curtain on the high step in front. The queen mothers of the two palaces sit behind the curtain.
Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Cixi looked at Li Guolou, who was watching her nose and heart. She couldn't help but smile. He really looked like her eunuch Xiao De Zhang. When she thought of what Li Lianying told her, Li Guolou and Xiao De Zhang met by chance for the first time. Cixi then raised her hand and whispered: "Sister, look at that person. Does he look like Xiao De Zhang? He is a descendant of Li Zhongtang. He comes from Li Zhongtang's grandfather. His name is Li Guo building."
Empress Dowager Ci'an looked at Li Guolou and then at Xiao Dezhang standing next to Empress Dowager Cixi. She couldn't help but burst out in joy. She nodded and said: "They really are very similar. Only the frame is a little bigger. Where does Li Guolou rank?" "
Standing behind the Empress Dowager Cixi, Xiao Dezhang's expression did not change. He had already knocked over the five-flavor bottle in his heart. He knew that their efforts were not in vain. Li Guolou was reviewed by the two empress dowagers. His worth immediately rose. Thousand taels of silver are about to be obtained. Xiao Dezhang winked at the little eunuch standing next to the Empress Dowager Ci'an. The white silver is worth it.
Before this palace examination, more than 200 Jinshi actually already had a top-three ranking. It was almost set. It depends on whether Emperor Tongzhi has any objections. Generally, the emperor has to slightly change a few rankings. Some people change their fate because of their name or appearance. The first, second, and third graders are all Jinshi, but their official positions are arranged differently and their promotion speeds are also different.
The three Jinshi who entered the first class will have a roll call in the Forbidden City later. In the imperial garden, hairpins are placed on the official hats. They drink at the Qionglin banquet. Hundreds of officials celebrate together. Dozens of guards and eunuchs start together from outside the Qianqing Palace gate. The name of Yijia was called. Sentries continued to shout one after another, all the way to Chang'an Street. When the officials were paraded through the streets, there were crowds of spectators. The most glorious thing in the past and present is at this moment. The place where civilian officials are more glorious than military officers is passing the exam. "One armor".
Cixi said: "Xiao Lizi, bring Li Guolou's examination papers to us for a look."
Cixi had a strong foundation in eight-legged prose and could write Chinese. Many of the imperial edicts promulgated in the name of Emperor Tongzhi in the past were written by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Now that her son Zaichun has grown up, Cixi no longer writes Chinese. But she is habitually in power. Cixi paid special attention to the selection of scholars for the country. She judged people by their appearance and wanted the person to be promoted to the top. Cixi first had to read Li Guolou's articles and where Li Hongzao placed Li Guolou.
"Tie." Li Lianying bowed and stepped back. From Li Hongzao, she took Li Guolou's examination papers and those of other top two candidates. Both Queen Mothers had to read the examination papers of these thirty-three candidates. As for the top three candidates, The two queen mothers could only read the test papers.
Similarly, Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun also sat on the dragon chair and read the candidates' examination papers. The Jinshi in the hall only had three to four hundred words to write an eight-part essay. No matter how slow the candidates wrote, they would always finish it in one morning.
The Empress Dowager Cixi first looked at the roster. Li Guolou's ranking was ranked second and twenty-ninth by Li Hongzao. Then she looked at the article written by Li Guolou. The font was of the Juanxiu type, which was pretty good. She didn't have the previous fill-in-the-blank question. The eight-part essay was the only standard for her to read. Li Guolou’s eight-part essay was the proud work of the examiner Li Hongzao. It immediately caught the eyes of the Empress Dowager Cixi. She nodded slightly with approval.
"Sister, please take a look." Empress Dowager Cixi handed the Li Guolou examination paper to Empress Dowager Ci'an.
At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi was by no means arbitrary as later generations said. She had a very good relationship with the Empress Dowager Ci'an. The two palaces coexisted peacefully. Another point is that the Empress Dowager Ci'an did not like the political power in the court and had no political ambitions. She had no political ambitions in the court. Decisions are all based on the opinions of the Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress Dowager Cixi has not established absolute authority. For the ministers in the court, the status of the Empress Dowager Ci'an is higher than that of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Major national affairs must be reported to the two empress dowagers together.
Cixi hoped that her son Zai Chun would be able to act independently and handle the government affairs on her own as soon as possible. She did not have the ambitions of Wu Zetian, and she did not have vicious methods. She used her beauty to seduce Prince Gong Yixin and seize power from the eight princes. She also did not go on a killing spree. She only wants the Qing Dynasty to last forever, and she can help her son Zaichun complete the revival of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, she has a high interest in the country's recruitment of scholars. Discovering talents and promoting talents are of great importance to the country. When Cixi The Queen Mother couldn't help but be filled with joy when she saw Li Guolou's article.
Empress Dowager Ci'an did not have the literary talent of Empress Dowager Cixi, but she could tell the quality of eight-part essay. After reading it once, she said: "Well, sister, that Li Guolou wrote well. He has such a level at such a young age. I heard that He also stayed abroad, which is rare."
Empress Dowager Cixi frowned slightly and said, "Oh. Why don't I know this? Xiao Lizi, please bring me Li Guolou's files and let me have a look."
Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't pay attention and continued to read other Jinshi's articles. The most important thing was the examination papers for the first three people recommended by Li Hongzao. Among them was Lu Runxiang's examination paper.
Li Lianying is a smart person. He just told the story about Li Guolou and Xiao Dezhang as a joke to the Empress Dowager Cixi. How dare he tell the story of Li Guolou and just click on it. As for the Empress Dowager Ci'an Knowing what happened to Li Guolou, it was done by Zhang Yiyi, the eunuch of the East Palace. This way, he would not show off his deeds and prevent the two queen mothers from realizing how stupid they were. They actually became tools for the eunuchs around them.
Other Jinshi only want to bribe the examiner, pass the Jinshi, use their brains to go to Qianqing Palace, want to squeeze into the top three, and plot against the emperor and the empress dowagers of the two palaces. There is only one Li Guolou in the world.
After reading Li Guolou's resume, the Empress Dowager Cixi had an idea in her mind, but her face remained calm. She put Li Guolou's examination papers aside without returning the original spot of the top twenty-nine.
A group of eunuchs with a calm expression. They have already developed the ability to express joy, anger, sorrow and joy like an actor. They are secretly excited. What kind of person is their master? Do they, the slaves, not know? The snow-white silver is waiting for them. They divide it.