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【Chapter 3 Nineteen】

Under Chi Heng's tenderness, Ji Ce changed his practice of doing everything by himself, and instead looked for a lighter way.In this way, if you let go of it, the courtiers will do things faster. Of course, it is inevitable that there will be omissions. Correspondingly, Ji Ce came up with rewards and punishments to show supervision.

September and October are spent in stumbling experiments.

In the beginning, everything was not going well, but after the rules were established, they persisted for a period of time and became smoother. Suddenly, the entire court became more active, and everyone struggled to complete their own affairs. With all my brains, I wish I could grow seven or eight hands.There were also quarrels and quarrels in the court, but it wasn't Chi Heng who was arguing, but Chi Heng smiled and watched the civil servants and generals arguing fiercely. What he and Ji Ce had to do was to make a decision.

During the day, he was very busy, but at night, he seldom stayed in Qianyuan Hall.

Either Ji Ce, or Luo Jinghan, occasionally went to Shi Wei's place.Once, when Luo Jinghan was talking about something in Ji Ce Hall, Chi Heng happened to pass by, and it was getting late again, so the three of them had a drink together.Chi Heng grabbed Luo Jinghan and asked him to stay overnight, while Ji Ce raised his eyebrows and taunted him. Chi Heng didn't care, and said cheekily: "Vice Envoy Ji, the bed I gave you is the largest size. More than enough to sleep four people."

After drinking some wine, Ji Ce was unable to catch up.

Chi Heng was in a daze and slept on the same bed with the two of them.After this time, Luo Jinghan stayed in Ji Ce Palace more and more times, and Chi Heng didn't have such a headache and couldn't use it for three or four times.

In October, there was a light snowfall in the capital, and in front of the Deqing Hall, powder was spread in Danchi.

Generally speaking, only ten people can enter the palace examination in the previous dynasty.When the country was first established, Chi Heng was so thirsty for talents that he ordered the top [-] talents in the examination to come to Beijing.

Among these people, there are young people with weak crowns, senior scholars in their 50s and [-]s, and several former officials who have experienced ups and downs.According to Zhuang Qi's arrangement, a few days before the palace examination, Zhuang Qi will place the last [-] candidates in an ordinary courtyard in the capital alone. Some of these people are leisurely, and some are still diligent.

Three days before the palace examination, the sky was clear and clear, so Chi Heng strolled to the courtyard.

In front of the yard is a market that sells groceries. There are everything, including needlework, whetstones, and gadgets. It is lively and lively.Two people came out of the yard, one blue and one gray.The one in blue clothes, young and weak, has a chic and chic style, and his chin is slightly raised to look at all sentient beings; the other is 35 or six years old, with an ordinary appearance in gray clothes, which can barely be called upright and more than stable.

The gray-clothed man was probably new to the capital and was interested in everything.

On the other hand, the man in blue is the kind who is proud of his talent at first glance, and he doesn't catch everything.He was very dissatisfied with the gray-clothed man wandering around the market, and made ridicule from time to time.The gray-clothed man had a good temper, he laughed everything he said, and kept asking and watching, unhurriedly.

Walking to Chi Heng's side, the two stopped at the same time.

Chi Heng wears ordinary clothes and ordinary attire.

The man in blue glanced at him and passed by with his head raised high.But the man in gray stopped, he stared at Chi Heng, and reluctantly left under the urging of the man in blue.

After Fang walked a few steps, the two stopped, bowed their hands respectfully and saluted: "Zhuang Shaoqing, the students are being polite!"

Standing in front was Zhuang Qi.

Si Ye Shaoqing, a Confucian who is in charge of the world's books, is also the chief examiner of this scientific examination. He is noble and talented. Can the scholars be respectful?After exchanging pleasantries with the two, Zhuang Qi quickly walked up to Chi Heng.The man in blue looked at the two in surprise, while the man in gray took his clothes and left in a very sensible way.

Chi Heng said: "Who are those two?"

"The young one is Qizhou Pei Zicang, and the older one is Wu Shi."

Chi Heng was surprised: "He is Pei Zicang?" Pei Zicang became famous at a young age, known as a poem, known to all women and children, especially composed a tune in the Goulan, and Yuan Xi sang it all over the place.Such a talented person came to the examination to obtain fame, after all, it should be the turn of the top ten.

"Talent is that talent is different from taking exams. Exams are too restrictive, but it is not easy to get good grades. However, Pei Zicang has the current reputation, so he doesn't care about his ranking. I have already intended to let him enter the Hanlin Academy. You are short of a chief writer. .”

Chi Heng shook his head and said, "Regardless of his rank, Pei Zicang cannot serve as an official in the capital, and you can arrange the rest as you like."

"Why? He has both ability and political integrity!"

"I don't want to get a name that destroys poetic talents in the future. People who serve as officials must be virtuous and talented, but Pei Zicang needs to practice a lot if he wants to become a great talent. Besides, the essays are not good enough. If they are too smooth, they are not good. good."

"...I don't understand. Apart from being too arrogant, he is very good in everything else."

Chi Heng smiled and didn't say any more, but instead asked: "Is the Wu Shi next to him the one who wrote a long treatise on national policy?"

"Wu Shi is from Changling Prefecture. His family was poor. He followed his father to sell groceries since he was a child. Because his parents were sick, he died when he was eleven or twelve years old. He owed a lot of debts. Wu Shi paid off at the age of 16. After paying off his family debts, he came to Qizhou and happened to work as a clerk in Pei's cloth shop. He has always been motivated, worked as a clerk during the day, and studied hard at night. "The shop is considered a wealthy party, and the relationship with the Pei family has not been a master-servant relationship for a long time. Of course, despite his hard work, he is far inferior to Pei Zicang's talent. This time he is the first in the general examination. It is really not easy to get this ranking. But he is in On top of people's livelihood policy theory, unique insights, down-to-earth, I have recommended to Duanninghou, let him work in the Ministry of Industry or the Ministry of Officials, and take charge of the country's business."

Chi Heng nodded: "No wonder, he is much more experienced than Pei Zicang. That's exactly what I mean, he can relieve the worry of the cold - that's the kind of person we need."

After a pause, Zhuang Qi still recommended: "Pei Zicang's talent is unmatched, and I am also very ambitious."

Chi Heng had read Pei Zicang's poems, and they were indeed good. The maids sang them, and both Ji Ce and Zhuang Qi were full of praise.However, if you want to be an official, you need more than talent: "Of course I need people with high talents. However, they are also wood, and they are more suitable to be the strings of the prosperous age, not the pillars of the dynasty. For example, Pei Zicang, if he always Being so arrogant and defiant, he absolutely cannot become a scholar-bureaucrat, first give him a spare job to hone his skills, suffer a little bit of hardship, maybe the poems he writes will be better!"

After a long time, Zhuang Qi smiled: "I always feel that once you have prejudices, you will be more prejudiced than others."

Chi Heng was puzzled.

"Your Majesty also said that Zhuang Qi is a minister in a prosperous age, but I never understood."

Have you said that?It seems to have said to Hu Shuo.

"I just realized it today. Come to think of it, I insisted on following Rong Yue and the Qianyuan Army, which must have made His Majesty very difficult at the time. No wonder everyone else is the governor, and I am the only one who is the leader. In fact, I don't know what to do." I can do whatever I want—because at the first glance, it was concluded that I am suitable for troubled times."

Chi Heng smiled, and said for a while: "It's really difficult, because your talent is not here, and the military strategy is stretched, and the effect is not obvious. At first, it was because of this reason that you were resolutely refused to let you follow Rong Yue. Later, you were asked to follow Ji Ce, I also asked you to work with Shi Wei, military affairs, and local affairs. I have been trying to see what kind of position you are suitable for - Si Ye Shaoqing is the most suitable! Among the governors, few are as talented as you You are worthy, but the Confucian scholars in the court and middle school have more than enough learning and lack of command. You have enough talent, enough endurance, and the ability to command and plan troops acquired when you participated in the leadership, so you are chosen to be the young minister. reason."

Zhuang Qiyun asked calmly: "When you brought Rong Yue to King Yan's army, did you know that he was good at leading troops in battle? Do you really believe that he is a rare general?"

Chi Heng couldn't help laughing: "I'm not a god."

"You took him by your side without knowing anything, and taught him every detail—in fact, it doesn't have much to do with his talent, does it?"

"I hit it off with him."

"So you still judge from the first glance. Even if Rong Yue is not outstanding, you will still take him by your side. You can't be a general, but a small commander is fine. So, I will say, your prejudice is even stronger. It’s so deeply ingrained that if you brand it with an embroidered pillow at first sight, it’s hard to get rid of.”

"No, I'm a firm believer that anyone can hone it."

There was a wry smile on Zhuang Qi's lips: "Actually, you still... you said that I'm only suitable for the prosperous age, do you still think so?"

"Zhuang Qi, why bother with such meaningless questions? Are you still brooding over them!"

"Somewhat."

Chi Heng stopped, frowned for a moment, and finally looked into Zhuang Qi's eyes: "Yes, in fact, my thoughts are the same as Hu Shuo's: Zhuang Qi should not live in troubled times, suffer from ups and downs, let alone be contaminated by Any bloodshed and slaughter; you should be on the Purple Star Terrace, watching the wind and clouds, enjoying the offerings of earthly incense and fire, and you can take pity on the sufferings of the world. Am I not able to build another Purple Star Terrace for Zhuang Qi? If you want , a few years ago, when I just won Yuanzhou, I could do it—but I don’t want to.”

Zhuang Qi's eyes flashed puzzled.

Chi Heng smiled: "How can a Purple Star Tower be enough? How can a city of believers be enough? I hope that everyone in the world will look up to you! Just like now, even if there is no Purple Star Tower, no temples, and no incense, the scholars in the world All admiring you, ignorant people who don’t believe in gods and ghosts also admire you, not to mention how ordinary people who are attracted by your talents follow you! You don’t need me to build a platform for you, naturally countless believers rush to look up to you!”

Zhuang Qi was silent.

"The current Zhuang Qi is becoming more and more 'virtuous and respected', and he looks up to him. Maybe in the near future, he will become an 'Emperor Master', and even I will respectfully submit to your feet." Chi Heng sighed, "However, the Zixingtai's Zhuang Qi couldn't do it back then. Zixingtai has been around for 300 years, and it can be more refined and mysterious, but at the same time it will become more and more narrow. You are too high-minded, the biggest possibility is that you Just like my master, recruiting twenty or thirty believers, and continuing the fireworks on the Purple Star Terrace for 100 years—how can this be enough? Until now, I have slowly seen the Zhuang period I expected.”

"Have I been letting you down?"

"... At the beginning. But until you left the Qianyuan Army and started to serve as a teacher, and then opened the Wanli Academy, like a roc soaring into the sky, I can only hope for it." Chi Heng smiled. He said, "In ordinary chaotic and prosperous times, it's just about fighting or not fighting. Zhuang Qi now sets up a wide range of lessons to enlighten the people, let everyone know what is life and what is enlightenment, and it is not the same as saving the people from stupid and ignorant ignorance. What about troubled times?"

The shackles that had been imprisoned for a long time were released, and Zhuang Qi slowly smiled.

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