Ancient promotion routine

"Father, the Jinshi and the third person this time are Zhou Jin, Pingsheng, and Zhao Ping. These three people have outstanding literary talents, and their strengths and strengths are different. Zhou Jinran is from the capital, and he is from the south of the Yangtze River all his life, while Zhao Ping is from the northwest. "

The prince passed the original words of the news that Zhang Yanjin sent to him to the emperor. In the prince's view, although Zhou Jin's literary talent is the most exquisite, but there are too many designs in it and it is not true enough, and the honest and honest writing of this person in his life is what he likes the most.

Zhang Yanjin had previously told the crown prince that imperial examination candidates are the disciples of the emperor, so he naturally did not make too many comments, and the selection of candidates depends entirely on the emperor's decision.Zhang Yanjin's words made clear her position for a while, and the second was to remind the prince.

Now the emperor is most concerned about the faction of ministers in the court for private interests, and several princes are also ready to move. The prince is already weak and has few supporters. Compared with other princes, the biggest advantage of the prince is the support of the emperor.

The prince was very open about this, and he admired good officials who could govern the world for the Great Wei, such as Zhang Yanjin, Li Lian and others.

"Is anyone here?" The emperor held the answer sheet of the three in his hand, but he was thinking about Zhou Jin in the capital. They all alluded to the changes in the court, which aroused the emperor's curiosity.

If this person hadn't been acquainted in the court, that's why he had analyzed the current policy so thoroughly, it was almost in the heart of the emperor.

"Back to the emperor, the ministers and the three Jinshi are already waiting in the hall." Eunuch Xu replied from the side.

Zhang Yanjin and the others stood on both sides of the court hall, with three new Jinshi in the middle.

Zhou Jin stood between the two, standing tall and straight, without seeming to be stage-frightened, while Tsing Sheng kept his eyes on the ground, looking inarticulate, and Zhao Ping had a smile on his face, and his temper seemed to be jumpy.

One is steady, one is low-key, and one is lively.

It was also Zhang Yanjin's first time to see these three people, so she observed them naturally and meticulously, and felt that these three people had their own characteristics, and I'm afraid they would have to wait for the palace examination to know how high or low they were.

"The Emperor is here!"

Here comes, Zhang Yanjin said in her heart, this palace test is not just for fuss, but more important is personal conversation and knowledge, let's see how these three people perform.

The emperor's question was about how to resettle the people's livelihood after the flood in the south of the Yangtze River.

Zhou Jin's answer was to open granaries and release grain to appease the people.The answer in life is to implement fortifications and let the people accept the employment of the court.Zhao Ping's answer was to build dams and call on the people to work together and be prepared for danger in times of peace.

After hearing the three people's answers, the emperor did not comment immediately, but said: "Since you all have this idea, then I will shoot you to try it out, do you have the guts?"

Hearing this, the three Jinshi couldn't help but show joy, and said in unison: "The ministers have ruined the ground for Wei Wei, and they will do whatever they want."

The emperor made a decision so quickly, which made Zhang Yanjin a little puzzled. Although the court lacked talents, such a major matter, according to the emperor's character, would definitely not be so hasty.

However, the emperor then told the location of the three people, which made Zhang Yanjin understand the emperor's intention. This real test is just the beginning.

After the list of the first batch of Jinshi came out, the top three Jinshi were named second-rank officials and assigned to various places in the south of the Yangtze River, while the last dozens of Jinshi stayed in the capital to serve.Since ancient times, the minds of emperors have been difficult to guess, and Zhang Yanjin deeply realized this after passing the imperial examination.

Playing the emperor's routine, it was no better than Zhang Yanjin.

Seeing the emperor's move, Zhou Qin couldn't help being annoyed. The arrangement he had worked so hard for was so messed up. How could he be so calm.

"Your Majesty, although the three Jinshi are talented, they are newcomers to the officialdom, and I'm afraid they lack experience..." Zhou Qin took a step forward, very sincerely.

Zhang Yanjin could see clearly what Duke Rui Guo had in mind.

"The Duke of the State is right. The three Jinshi are indeed inexperienced, and it is inevitable that they will not deal with emergencies properly." Zhang Yanjin's words made Zhou Qin's face change.

Zhang Yanjin was definitely not speaking for himself, Zhou Qin turned his head and looked at Zhang Yanjin with an uncertain expression.

"However, Admiral Jiangnan made a point, and the three Jinshi just took the opportunity to learn experience, so it can be said that they are not complete." Zhang Yanjin finished speaking.

The emperor clapped his hands and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I mean. The newly promoted ministers should study hard, so as not to have no priority when taking office in the court in the future. This matter is tentative."

The emperor asked the three of them to take office immediately, and the palace had already prepared official uniforms. When the palace examination came out, the three Jinshi wore robes and purple gold headdresses, and rode through the city on horses, causing quite a commotion.

Other than envy, the common people looked at her with jealousy.

The ratio of the degree of the imperial examination to the number of people is really not small. Even the fat son of the owner of the cloth village in the south of the city was awarded the title of Shu Ji Shi. To do things, there is an official status and a reputation.

Princess Yuyang was ordered to come to the imperial study, and seeing her father's displeased face, she was wondering what was going on in her heart, but her delicate face was full of tenderness and pitifulness.

"Yuyang, do you have anything to do with the collapse of the Gongyuan?" Seeing Yuyang's pitiful look, the emperor could not help but slow down.

This Yuyang is his favorite princess, she is talented and good-looking, but she is a little narrow-minded.Thinking of Yuyang and Zhang Yanjin's festivities, the emperor sighed inwardly.

Seeing his father's expression of anger and annoyance, Yuyang knew that the matter of the Gongyuan was definitely found out by his father, and he would admit it or not.

If you don't admit it even if you kill her, your father will definitely forgive her, but you must be disappointed in your heart. If you admit to blaming Zhang Yanjin for all this...

If she read correctly just now, the emperor's guilt is probably because of the previous incident.

"It's my son who is ignorant, please punish me." Princess Yuyang looked sad, as if she had done something wrong and felt wronged.

The emperor saw it, and really began to feel distressed.

"Hey, let's forget it this time. It's the father who owes you. Why don't you see which son in the court is suitable for you. The father is the master and bestows a marriage for you."

The emperor said this firstly to prevent his own princess from getting involved with that Shangshu again, but because Princess Yuyang has reached her age, it is time to see a suitable son-in-law, and thirdly, it has the meaning of compensation.

"Father~." Princess Yuyang tugged on the emperor's sleeve, lowered her head and murmured.

"Okay, okay, don't say it, don't say it."

In the Ministry of Rites, Zhang Yanjin was worried about everyone, hoping to have a correct interpretation of the last imperial examination.

Li Ying stood up first. He cleared his throat and said, "This time the imperial examination has brought about a wave of reading, and the engraved and printed books can hardly keep up with the pace of people buying books. The economic prosperity of China has played an irreplaceable role in promoting it. I myself, through this participation, also know that being an official is not only for the future, but also for the people and the world.”

"Okay." Chen Su took the lead in applauding, and everyone else followed suit.

"In this imperial examination, there were a total of 30 Jinshi and [-] Shujishi. There were almost [-] people who entered the court as officials, and the others chose to return to their hometowns to become officials there. I was thinking that although the imperial examination replaced the court It alleviates the worries of employing people, but if it seems to be so, it seems a bit inappropriate." Zhou Hao said.

Zhang Yanjin listened to the thoughts of Li Ying and Zhou Hao, and began to analyze from the starting point of the two: "Sculpture and printing have now been recommended to various places. Although the imperial court has relaxed the management of paper and printing this year, it will not work for a long time. Books Printing should be done according to the actual market demand, so as to avoid the situation where books are worthless and talk about knowledge, Li Ying, you must start to pay attention to control from now on, and the engraving and printing bureaus in various places should also give corresponding feedback." Zhang Yanjin wants to wait until this transition period Afterwards, the market will enter a stable state, and the imperial court will not be willing to continue to do loss-making business. Although the emperor has given him privileges, if it goes on for a long time, the Ministry of Households will find that the promotion and maintenance of the imperial examination is a black hole that cannot be filled. .

The promotion of Zhang Yanjin's first step has been completed, and now all the candidates have joined the job, the common people have seen the results, and the number of colleges in the capital has also begun to increase.

It seems that everything is developing in a good direction, but Zhang Yanjin naturally dare not ignore the disadvantages.

"Master Zhou is right. If all the candidates return to their hometowns to become officials, it will definitely lead to local corruption and chaos." Zhang Yanjin said bluntly, both he and the emperor understood Zhou Hao's meaning.

But this time Zhang Yanjin suggested that the emperor let most of the people return to their hometowns to serve as officials because they want them to cherish their hometowns, so that the people all over the world can truly feel the charm of the imperial examinations, and let the people of the Great Wei know the benefits of learning and studying , Let the importance of the imperial examination be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

"This is the disadvantage of the first imperial examination. We have to write it down and reflect on how we can do better in the future, so that the talented people in Wei Dynasty can serve the emperor and the court, and work for the world. "

Zhang Yanjin proposed the imperial examination, first of all to help the emperor cultivate power, but since these days, Zhang Yanjin's mentality has changed a lot. The imperial examination has a different meaning from the coal mines and making money he used to do. Zhang Yanjin remembered the phrase "knowledge" If you want to change your destiny", he hopes that in this Wei Dynasty, ordinary people can also feel the power of knowledge, not just the fear of power and oppressors.

"Yes, my lord." Zhou Hao stepped forward and said after hearing what Lord Shangshu said.

For this young Lord Shangshu, Zhou Hao admired him from the very beginning. Even though Zhang Yanjin was younger than him, Zhang Yanjin's words today benefited him a lot.

Zhang Yanjin finished the construction work in the Ministry of Rites and returned home.

He is still holding the Yu Ruyi that the emperor gave him this morning. Zhang Yanjin has contributed a lot to the holding of the imperial examination, but now he is already a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Rites. If he is promoted again, it will not conform to the Wei system. In order for Zhang Yanjin to rise further, one is to prevent Zhang Yanjin's high achievements from making people jealous, and the other is to let Zhang Yanjin understand that his future is in whose hands.

What Zhang Yanjin didn't know was that the emperor had already suppressed several pamphlets of Zhang Yanjin's impeachment. Could it be that Zhang Yanjin used Emperor Ming to increase the price of paper? Reading but no place to practice writing.

Zhang Yanjin came to Duke Ning's mansion and looked at the familiar gate. Since becoming Minister of Rites, he has been busy with imperial examinations and rarely came back. This was the first time he came back after New Year's Eve.

"Where is the old lady?" The sons of the Duke's Mansion are now sent to the school to study. Zhang Zhongqian is either in the military camp or in the court most of the time. When Zhang Yanjin enters the gate of the mansion, he sees some unfamiliar people. servant.

He thought that when the Shangshu Mansion was first built, his uncle was afraid that the newly bought servants would cause him trouble if they didn't know the rules, so he sent most of the Dingdu from his hometown to the Shangshu Mansion. Zhang Yanjin patted his head, why did he just think of this, It was supposed to be returned many days ago, but I forgot completely.

"Go back to your lord, the old lady is in the garden." Seeing Zhang Yanjin's extraordinary aura, the new servant guessed that this was Erlang from the Ningguo Duke's mansion that the old people often said. He is now the minister of the Ministry of Rites. lead the way.

Seeing this, Zhang Yanjin wanted to say no, this is his home, how can he not know the way?But seeing this person's face flushed, I was afraid that if I said a few more words, I would be guilty.

The old lady is getting old and her eyesight is not very good. When she saw someone approaching from a distance, she asked, "Is that my grandson?"

During these days when Zhang Yanjin was away, the old lady kept talking in the market, and asked this sentence when she saw someone coming.

Hearing what the old lady said, Zhang Yanjin felt sore in his heart. He felt ashamed to be cared and cared by the old lady.

"Grandma, it's me."

Zhang Yanjin offered the box containing Yu Ruyi in his hand, and said, "Erlang is not filial, he only came to see you today, this is Erlang's apology for you."

"Be good, be good, grandma doesn't blame you, just look at how good Erlang is, and he even brought me something. From now on, as long as Erlang comes, grandma will be happy."

The old lady pulled Zhang Yanjin and asked the maid to place a seat for Zhang Yanjin. After Zhang Yanjin sat down, she asked the maid to pass the box to him.

Every time Zhang Yanjin came to see the old lady, it would not take more than a cup of tea. Seeing the old lady like this today, she was worried that she would leave in just a moment.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yanjin's heart softened a little. Although the Ningguo Mansion has a great family and a lot of people, there are very few people who can really talk to the old lady.

"Grandmother, can you give me a meal today?" Zhang Yanjin said.

"Hehe, you little cunning, you are Lord Shangshu, who dares to starve you, then the emperor should not be in a hurry with him, and want to eat with me, an old bone, I'm afraid you are not used to it." The old lady joked, she listened When Zhang Yanjin said this, a smile spread to his lips.

"I didn't eat at noon, I just waited to come to grandma's for dinner." Zhang Yanjin said seriously.

"All right, I'll let the kitchen cook something delicious for you." The old lady said cheerfully.

"What good things did you bring me, let me see." The old lady opened the box, only to see a faint light inside, which was light green.

"This is a good thing, a good thing." The old lady touched the small and exquisite jade ruyis in her hand and said, this pair of ruyis is a sign of good luck. The old lady has always believed in Buddhism and loves these beautiful symbols.

Zhang Yanjin just took a look at the box when she was in the palace, and never opened it again when she arrived at the Ministry of Rites. Seeing that the old lady was happy, she couldn't help but take a second look.

"Hey, why is there something else in here?" The old lady put Yu Ruyi on the table and picked up the mat under the box.

Seeing the old lady pick up the object, Zhang Yanjin could only smell a fragrance.

"Old lady, what's the matter with you, what's the matter?" the maid shouted.

The old lady fainted after smelling the thing, and Zhang Yanjin also inhaled a little beside her, feeling dizzy. Hearing the servant girl's voice, she struggled to squeeze out two words: "Emperor doctor."

It was already the second day when Zhang Yanjin woke up. As soon as he got up from bed, he immediately walked towards the door, but within two or three steps, he fell to the ground again.

"My lord, are you alright?" Rui Fu stepped forward to help Zhang Yanjin up and asked.

"Where am I, how is the old lady?" Zhang Yanjin sat on the stool with the help of Ruifu.

"You are in the Shangshu Mansion, the old lady of the Duke's Mansion is fine, but she needs to rest at home." Ruifu said.

"What's wrong with me?" Zhang Yanjin pressed her temples, trying to make herself more awake.

"The imperial doctor said that you had planted the ecstasy powder, and so did the old lady, but because the old lady inhaled more than you, and she hasn't woken up yet, the Duke said that you don't want to go back anytime soon, and just deal with the affairs of the Shangshufu. good."

"What's the matter?" Zhang Yanjin frowned and asked.

"Lord Li Ying was imprisoned by Mr. Zhou of Duke Rui's mansion, saying that he made paper privately." Ruifu told Zhang Yanjin what Mr. Guo said.

Zhang Yanjin covered her head, and said to Ruifu, "Go and prepare a bucket of cold water for me, and prepare some peppers for me."

After Ruifu prepared the water, Zhang Yanjin soaked himself in the water, chewing chili peppers in his mouth, his mind was activated, and then slowly began to think about these things.

He was just the number of vacant printings in the first generation of Li Ying. Later, someone came to arrest people on the spot. What was the reason for Li Ying to be transferred and arrested.

Also, his wish-fulfilling box has been kept in the Ministry of Rites and has not left. Who put the Mihun powder in it? At exactly that time, Li Ying was arrested by Zhou Qiye when he couldn't get his own proof. gone?

Li Ying is now an official appointed by the imperial court. Although his official position is not high, it is absolutely impossible for ordinary people to arrest Li Ying without the imperial court's permission.

"Bang bang," Zhang Yanjin asked after hearing these two knocks on the door, "What's the matter?"

He had to figure out the ins and outs of the matter first before he could release Li Ying. Zhou Qiye was not a reckless person, and if he was not fully sure, he would never dare to do anything.

"My lord, the crown prince is here." Ruifu carefully looked at the crown prince behind him, for fear of making the crown prince angry.

Suddenly there was the sound of water and the rubbing of clothes, Zhang Yanjin opened the door, and saw the prince standing in front of the door, looking not relaxed.

"Please, Your Highness." Zhang Yanjin made way sideways.

"Zhang Qing, don't be too polite. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to worry about the matter of Li Ying, but there is another more serious matter." The prince looked at Zhang Yanjin worriedly, and then said, "Some ministers come up." I wrote a book to impeach you, saying that you abused the imperial power, took the opportunity to collude with foreigners, not only told the foreigners about the storage of spirits and the art of snow medicine, but now this engraved and printed book seems to be known by the foreigners, and they intend to come to our Great Wei to seek it."

"Is Li Ying okay?" Zhang Yanjin asked.

After all, these people couldn't bear it anymore, and started to do it.

"The matter with Li Ying is just a misunderstanding. I have already explained it clearly to my father. All of your papers were transported from the palace, and the quantity was registered. As for the others, my father must know it well. It's just that the first two things are a bit tricky."

"I can't stay for a long time. You have something to ask someone to take this to the East Palace and I will go." The prince came in a hurry. There are many people impeaching Zhang Yanjin in the palace. He has to keep an eye on it so as not to miss any news.

"Thank you for your warning, Your Highness." Zhang Yanjin sent the prince away and stayed alone in the study.

The medicine was taken so punctually, it made me miss a good show.

After the imperial examination, Zhang Yanjin asked the emperor for a three-day leave. The first day was so exciting, but Zhang Yanjin was looking forward to it, what kind of dirty water these people could pour on themselves.

This collusion with foreigners and leaking the state affairs of the dynasty is a big hat.I don't know how the emperor felt when he heard it.

Long before the engraving and printing and the imperial examination, Zhang Yanjin recorded all his encounters and conjectures in the border town. Otherwise, with the emperor's personality, how could he be believed to be able to serve the court wholeheartedly.

There is a deal between Zhang Yanjin and the emperor.

And now someone came to this deal to challenge his patience, what Zhang Yanjin had to do now was to see how big waves these people could make.