Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Although Li Bing reluctantly assigned most of the credit for the construction of self-diversion to Lu Ci, who offered advice, but in the final analysis, it was only to the extent of providing convenience to the people of a city.

Not to mention that the effective period is quite short, but when it is built, it is extremely dependent on the surrounding bamboo and wood vegetation, so it is difficult to be replicated by other places, and its influence is greatly limited.

Although Li Bing wrote a lot about this, he did not cause much disturbance in the court.

It would be better to say that such a trivial matter, thanks to the blessing of the new provincial governor to be involved in it, caused a little surprise.

However, it was only surprising that even the emperor Zhao Heng quickly lost interest in such a short period of time, and he dealt with the subsequent discussion with a perfunctory expression.

Only Kou Zhun stood proudly, with a bit of thought in his eyes.

Before reaching the stage of the imperial examination, he never paid too much attention to Gong Ju.

After all, in his opinion, more than [-]% of those who passed the provincial examination will be dismissed in the palace examination, so it is obviously too early to talk about winning over.

But for the name of Lu Ci and Lu Yuyu, the new provincial governor who caused quite a commotion in Bianjing, even though he was indifferent, he inevitably heard a little bit of it.

However, he only knew that he was a northerner who was only seventeen years old, but he didn't know that he was an out-and-out hard worker.

If he is not in his position, he is already worried about his politics. Once he is white, he is already worried about the fate of the country...

This kind of scholar who takes the world as his own responsibility, has virtue and ambition, and extraordinary courage can be worthy of the word "national scholar".

This is too much for Kou Zhun's temper.

After the court ceremony, when he returned to the mansion, he still hummed a little song in a good mood, which was surprising to his wife.

Mrs. Kou stood aside Tingting, waiting for the envoy to change his clothes, and couldn't help asking: "Master looks at it today, he seems to be very interested."

Ever since he was dismissed as prime minister and later moved to the position of privy envoy, Kou Zhun's face has become stinky every day, even the emperor doesn't give him a good face.

Zhao Heng is already used to his crazy and arrogant temper.

In addition, Zhao Heng has been pretending to be a ghost for a long time, unknowingly, he made a fake show for real, and he really cultivated to become a fairy, and he gradually became a little more pure-hearted, and he was less likely to care about Kou Zhun.

From Mrs. Kou's point of view, her master is more than in high spirits today, compared with his recent black faces, he is almost exuberant.

Kou Zhun smiled and said, "It's really good. You just happened to be here, so let me ask you, is there a young lady who is ready to marry?"

Mrs. Kou was speechless for a moment, and then said helplessly: "...Did the master not know about the emptiness under your knees until today?"

In the early years, she would feel sad because of this, but the couple has always been deeply in love, and they gradually let go of it.

Kou Zhun stroked his beard and laughed loudly: "Ma'am, don't blame me, I'm so happy and confused."

After seeing that Yan Xiaoer won the favor of the officials, made a steady rise in the sky, and gradually gained the momentum to suppress the Beiren, he finally learned that among the Beiren, there was a talented and ambitious Shengyuan Luci, of course he was happy.

It can be considered that someone who is up to date has come in, don't keep telling those southerners to be arrogant.

The first thought that came to Kou Zhun's mind was naturally to marry him by marriage before the other party soared into the sky, so as to completely win him over.

It's a pity that he has no children under his knees for many years, and even if he wants to marry a daughter, he can't change himself.

Kou Zhun sighed regretfully: "For the time being, we can only miss the good opportunity!"

When he was sighing in the mansion, Lu Ci, who knew nothing about his small publicity in the early court, naturally could not know. Kou Zhun captured his son-in-law.

In the short ten days between the announcement of the provincial examination and the opening of the palace examination, he has not been idle for half a day. He is addicted to the endless cycle of reading poems, reciting poems and writing poems every day, and he is almost going crazy.

Zhu, who has been firmly following Lu Ci's rhythm, said that needless to say, he is even more crazy than Lu Ci.

Even Liu Qi, who was the most undisciplined, was deeply affected by the dignified and tense atmosphere, and had no thoughts of seductiveness, but was willing to stay in the room all day long, attacking various topics.

It wasn't until the last day that Lu Ci forced himself to put down all the poetry collections that he had memorized fluently, stepped out of the room, and then took the other three who were also dizzy and in a trance, and went out for an outing.

Since Lu Ci and his party didn't go out these days, the icemen gathered in front of the door, or those who were very lively, all got bored and dispersed on their own.

But at this moment when all the scholars waiting for the palace had learned to have red eyes, they came to the opposite direction and went out for sightseeing together, obviously no one guessed it.

Of course, for the safety of his group, Lu Ci took all his servants with him and went straight to the Kanjie Pavilion.

Because in March and April every year, the emperor would generously open the royal gardens such as Yujin Garden, Jinming Pool and Qionglin Garden to the citizens of Bianjing without taking any money, naturally attracting most of the crowds.

Anyone who has a leisure time will go there admiringly, even if there are huge crowds of people, they will wholeheartedly go there.

As a result, those urban landscapes that were still bustling in mid-to-late February, including this street-watching pavilion, suddenly became few tourists and no one patronized them.

Now it's cheaper for Lu Ci and the others.

They can monopolize this pavilion and overlook the various conditions of the city and the life of the people at will.

Liu Qi yawned lazily, with one leg leisurely tilted up, pretending to complain: "Qi Yu suddenly dragged us out, just to blow the spring breeze from the pavilion?"

Zhu said that without thinking about it, he defended Lu Ci: "Everything should be done in a relaxed manner. Brother Yuyu clearly saw that I was too bored these days, so he brought here specially. If you don't care about blowing this spring breeze , you can go back on your own."

Teng Zongliang gnawed on the soft honey cake, but he had no opinion: "I haven't gone out for a long time, it's better to sit for a while."

"Hey, hey," Liu Qi's mouth twitched, "When did I stop blowing?"

While speaking, he deliberately moved to Lu Ci's side and sat under the wind direction.

Lu Ci didn't bother to talk to him, but Zhu said he couldn't help but glanced at him, and saw Liu Qi exaggeratingly taking a big breath with a smile: "Oh, it just happened that this good spring breeze sent some of Shengyuan's talent Come on, call me Zhan Zhan. Brother Zhu, don’t you come to grab me, right?”

Zhu said: "..."

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe that there are such shameless people in the world!

Hearing the sound, Lu Ci turned around, seeing Zhu Said that he was no longer calm after being stimulated by Liu Qi, he couldn't help smiling.

No matter how many of them can get the first place in the palace examination this time, it may be difficult to see such a peaceful and leisurely gathering together.

Liu Qihu asked: "Brother Zhu, how sure is he of answering the test?"

Zhu Shuo was stunned, thought for a long time, and replied in a low voice: "There must be [-]%."

In previous years, those who failed the palace examination were all in the middle of the third to the fourth. Even if Zhu Shuo's ranking in the provincial examination was not taken into account, it was definitely considered conservative.

Liu Qi no longer dared to tease the little Taotie who was getting more and more majestic and less and less easy to provoke, so he caught Zhu who was even more teasing and said to play: "Then Zhu brother thinks that there is a few percent chance of Brother Yu being on the list. ?”

Zhu said without hesitation: "Ninety percent."

Liu Qi originally thought that Zhu Shuo, who was always displeased with his style, would take this opportunity to hurt him a few words, and didn't want the other party to be not only honest, but also think highly of others when it comes to serious issues.

As a result, after he got this unexpected answer, he didn't know how to answer for a while, he was stuck in embarrassment, and after a while he said modestly: "Brother Zhu is absurd. To be honest, [-]% of the time, it can only be Yu Yu. "

However, Zhu said immediately, "Brother Yu Yu has a [-]-[-] chance of winning!"

Lu Ci sighed inwardly.

In his opinion, Liu Yong's success depends not only on how well the palace examination papers are done, but also on whether the emperor can remember the song "Crane Soaring to the Sky".

——It’s just that no matter how worried you are, it’s not the time to talk.

They also could not monopolize this scenic street pavilion for too long.

After all, the news that the four young scholars, all of whom were famous in the provincial examination list, went on a trip together soon became known to interested people, so that Xun Bingren didn't even visit the garden at all, and rushed here in a hurry.

However, before being surrounded again, Lu Ci decisively retreated calmly with his friends who had cleared their heads after such a gust of wind.

The relaxing effect of Lu Ci temporarily taking people out for a swim is quite remarkable.

Going to bed early, the four people who rested separately got a good night's sleep.

In the early morning of the next day, under the intense anticipation of Zhong Yuan Yishu and the others, the energetic Lu Ci and the others carried the test box on their backs, and waited for someone from the palace to pick them up.

Regardless of the fact that the number of candidates for the exam has dropped from more than 7000 in the provincial exam to just over [-] in the palace exam, the level of the examiners and the number of candidates have actually increased a lot.

As the nominal chief examiner, it goes without saying that the status of the emperor is respected.

Even if you only look at the list of examiners, including Hanlin Bachelor, Shangshu and other official positions, you can see how much the imperial court attaches importance to the palace examination.

The examination place was also moved from Meng Chang's former residence to the Chongzheng Hall, the "place of reviewing affairs".

All this means that the treatment that the candidates will enjoy will also increase a lot.

Let’s compare it with Qunjian: At that time, they all walked out of the palace gates. After that, whether they hired donkeys or horses or walked, they had to solve it by themselves.

And when it was time to go to the palace examination, the Royal Medicine Academy, which was in charge of the palace examination, had already arranged the carriages and horses properly.

They went out a little earlier and didn't have to wait long. The carriage from Yuyaoyuan arrived quickly and politely picked up the four of them.

The four people in the co-guarantee all met the qualifications of the palace examination, and they all lived together, saving them from having to go to other places to pick them up.

When making arrangements, the officials of the Imperial Medicine Academy couldn't help sighing, it would be great if all the judges could do this, wouldn't it save them a lot of trouble?

Of course, such rare things are all rare.

When the carriage circled the Chongzheng Hall for half a circle and arrived at the main gate of the hall, Lu Ci realized that this palace is not only exquisite everywhere, but also has many facilities, which is very spacious, no wonder it will be used for the palace examination.

However, the calmness with which he purely appreciates the palace as a cultural relic is particularly conspicuous compared with the unconcealed excitement of other scholars who walked into the palace for the first time, plus thinking and only one step away from the title of the gold list.

When Emperor Zhao Heng, who was followed by the vast queue of examiners and headed for the water pavilion at the back of the hall, walked through the hallway absent-mindedly, he raised his head casually. Lu Jieyuan's demeanor and outstanding appearance made him look particularly eye-catching.

There was still a while before leaving for the test, and no one had arrived yet, so Lu Ci sat by the railing, not looking around with the others, just watching the fish swimming in the pond in a leisurely trance.

After a few months, he has grown a little taller.

Even though she was wearing a plain shirt that was the same as everyone else's, and her black hair was neatly tied up, only her extremely handsome jade-like profile and a slender and graceful neck were exposed, but these alone brought out a full-fledged coquettish look lazy.

Last time, Zhao Heng only glanced at the little Xie Yuan who was giving the speech, but because he was far away and didn't pay attention to it, he only remembered that he looked good, but the impression was blurred.

Suddenly, he took a closer look. Although he didn't have a straight face, Zhao Heng, who was used to seeing beauties in the harem, couldn't help being a little surprised.

The handsome young man is naturally pleasing to the eye, much more comfortable than looking at Kou Zhun's stinky face.

He turned his head to the side specifically, and asked the courtier quickly in a low voice: "The one in the white shirt leaning on the railing is that provincial Yuan named Lu?"

The minister took a quick look and replied, "Your Majesty is wise, that person is Lu Ci."

Zhao Heng replied vaguely without comment, and stopped looking in that direction, but continued walking towards the water pavilion.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Kou Zhun's values:

Kou Zhun is very conceited, "Only the sky is above, and there are no mountains and mountains", which is indeed a true portrayal of his character.As a prime minister, he did not follow the routine, including employing people. He also often broke the rules of the system, and most of them were promoted or demoted according to his own considerations.According to the grinding system, when a person reached the age limit, he should be promoted, and someone in the same rank gave Kou Zhun the merit examination file, requesting to follow the rules.Kou Zhun disagreed, and Tonglie thought it was the case.

Kou Zhun replied: "What is the job of a prime minister? It is to depose unworthy people and recommend virtuous talents. If everything is done according to the regulations, then what is the use of a prime minister? An ordinary official can do it."

According to Kou Zhun's original intention, he wanted to "acquire scholars" for the country, the kind of "national scholars" who "take the world as their own responsibility", are virtuous, capable and ambitious.There has always been a paradox in the work of the bureaucracy in history. It is completely in accordance with the regulations, and it will be promoted to half a level in a few years, and a promotion in a few years. A mediocre person who eats and does nothing is promoted, and "national scholars" will feel ashamed if they are mixed in the ranks of such officials, and they are unwilling to bow down for "five buckets of rice". Yunlin, either puts his love on words and no longer cares about the fate of the state.Therefore, such a system is unlikely to make the country "get scholars".However, it is completely recommended by the ministers, and it is easy because of the differences in the cultivation and vision of the recommenders, and the differences in the chances and luck of the recommendees. In the end, the court may not be able to "get scholars" smoothly: those officials who are close to the recommenders or those recommended by fate are easy to take the position. And officials who have worked hard for many years and have no chance to get close to or disdain the predestined recommenders can only be unknown.Recommenders like Li Hang, Kou Zhun, and Bi Shi'an, of course have vision, and can recommend decent talents; but if you encounter recommenders like Tong Guan, Cai Jing, and Jia Sidao, and recommend a group of sycophants to power, the country must dangerous.For thousands of years, this paradox has not been solved reasonably and perfectly.

Because of Kou Zhun's conceit, a group of officials who should be promoted "in time" were prevented from being promoted, so the "lower levels" were very resentful, and it was said in history that "the same ranks are quite unhappy." ("The Great Song Empire 300 Years 7 Zhenzong Zhao Hengxia")

2. The royal garden is open to the common people.

The imperial forest garden "Yujin Garden" in the Northern Song Dynasty also had the function of a zoo. Rare birds and animals that were paid tribute by other countries were kept in Yujin Garden. Elephants and strange beasts are listed in the outer garden, and the ministers are instructed to have a banquet in the middle of the garden." The outer garden is Yujin Garden.Animals raised in Yujin Garden include Cochin Elephant, Champa Golden Retriever, God Sheep (绌), Consonance, Tianzhu Suanni (lion), Peacock, White Pheasant, Elephant, Ox, Drone Camel, White Camel and so on.Among them, there are 1012 elephants. In order to provide enough forage for the elephants, the imperial court "ordered the Yujin Garden to plant 46 hectares of wild rice grass", that is, opened up [-] hectares of land in the Yujin Garden to plant wild rice grass.

Yujin Garden is a royal forest garden, but it is open to the officials, "instructing the officials to have a banquet in the garden".Scholars and bureaucrats can enjoy feasts in the garden.However, we say that it has the nature of a public zoo because Yujin Garden is also open to the public in March and April every year.During the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhou Bangyan wrote "Ode to Biandu", which mentioned that "the upper part wants to have fun with the people, and open gardens. Wherever the yellow house rests and where the luan resides, they can all be seen and admired very much." , There is no way to impeach if there are orders."Li Changmin's "Guangbian Metropolis Fu" in Song Huizong's time also said: "Order the stingy man to lift the ban, and let the people of the capital visit." These royal gardens open to the public naturally include Yujin Garden.Song Hong Mai's "Yi Jian Zhi" recorded an incident: During the reign of Huizong Daguan, the wealthy brothers of Suzhou went to Beijing to take the exam and "visited Yujin Garden due to leisure time", which shows that ordinary civilians in the Song Dynasty can enter Yujin Garden during the opening period. And no tickets.

The "Jinming Pool" and "Qionglin Garden", which are regularly open to the public, already have the nature of a "park".Every year during the Qingming Festival, it is the custom of Bianliang citizens to go to the Royal Forest Garden to explore the spring.During the opening period, the government organizes and holds grand gambling shows, water play performances, and dragon boat competitions in the "Jinming Pool" every year, attracting countless citizens to watch.Shrewd merchants have already set up colorful sheds on the bank of Jinming Pool and rented them out to tourists.The Baojin Building on Jinming Pool is where the emperor watched all kinds of opera performances and gave banquets to the emperor and ministers. Colored sheds are set up high, and Xu Shishu watch it, and a hundred operas are introduced. The Yuma Pool is covered with a yellow cover, and the whip is beaten like a ceremony. Every time a big dragon boat comes out, the number of tourists will double.”Every time a royal driver comes in person, visitors don't have to avoid it, and they compete to watch it, so that "the number of tourists doubles". ("Song: The Dawn of Modern Times")

3. The official position of the examiner in the palace examination, the examination place is the Chongzheng Palace, the scene where the examiner is located is located in the water pavilion, and the Chongzheng Palace is the "place for reviewing affairs" and other information, all from the "General History of the Chinese Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume 6" Chapter [-]

4. Kou Zhun has no children.

"Song History Kou Zhun Biography" Quasi-young people are rich and noble, have extravagant sex, comedies and drinks, and the guests at every banquet often close their doors and take off their seats.Over the years in Leizhou.After he died, he was ordered by Hengzhou to be buried in Xijing.Speaking of the Jingnan Public Security Bureau, people in the county set up sacrifices and wept on the road, folded bamboo to plant the ground, hung paper money, looked at it for more than a month, and all the dead bamboo had sprouted.Because of the establishment of temples, everyone enjoys it every year.No son, follow the son as the heir.