The days when I pretended to be a cat in the Forbidden City[Comprehensive]

"What the hell?"

When Xia Anran heard the report from the subordinate, only these three words flashed through her mind.

What kind of operation is it for a scholar who comes to apply for a job but wants to stay here to study?You all have some ambition anyway, why don't you think about whether you can be a teacher or something?

In fact, Xia Anran misunderstood these people because of such thoughts.

Today's teaching resources are almost all in the hands of Zanying, and only a very small number of teachers will open schools to teach.Frankly speaking, many of these applicants are half-baked, and many more of them are almost self-taught.

In fact, they don't know how much they have learned, so there are few sincere applicants, and they want to take this opportunity to make friends with colleagues. It would be even better if they can learn from teachers.

Simply put, these people who signed up are actually treating this event as a social event!

Come to work for the little prince?Hehe, it doesn't exist.

Poor Xia Anran, who was used as an excuse, didn't know all this at all, and he was still diligently facing the first recruitment conference to give questions and exams.

The first large-scale recruitment activity in Zhongshan Country could not go wrong. There was no charter before this kind of activity. Everything had to be started from scratch, and the questions were classified according to the parts of the application form filled out by the individual.

Those who claim to be good at academics will ask the Taifu to write questions.Needless to say, most of them are based on Huang Lao's theory, supplemented by the more widely known theories of pre-Qin philosophers.

The other one claimed to be good at governing the country. You Zhidu personally took the initiative and posed a few current affairs questions. Under Xia Anran's suggestion, there were also application questions and case analysis questions to test legal knowledge.

Of course there is a law test!What if the official is legally illiterate?Ordinary people who are legally ill will harm their own family at most, and officials who are legally ill will hurt the people under their rule.

At the same time, Xia Anran also asked questions such as how to defend the city and how to train soldiers. He wanted to see if he could improve his Cheng Bushi, who had been training soldiers all winter long, in martial arts. Useful subordinates.

In addition to these two categories, there is also a category of miscellaneous studies, such as those who are good at painting, singing, dancing, sculpture, etc. Xia Anran plans to ask for their opinions and then directly have an interview with the craftsman.This kind of thing is naturally more practical than written, how can theoretical knowledge alone be enough.

As of the first day of the first lunar month, there were a total of [-] candidates who had signed up.

Three days later, these talents got a test paper.

Faced with this unprecedented method of selecting talents, the students were somewhat uncomfortable, but they were persuaded by the little officials who handed out the papers.

As for the "written test", the official saying is: to select talents.

Here we must talk about a question that has to be asked in the interview, that is, face and eloquence.

That's right, almost all the emperors of the Han Dynasty are facial controls. Of course, there are historical allusions and legitimate reasons for this. After all, "aspects are born from the heart", and the study of physiognomy has existed since ancient times.

And military generals, civil servants hang around in front of the emperor every day. If the appearance is below the level, the emperor's work experience will be bad.

However, this move did sentence those who "have time to face" to death at the very beginning, which is indeed unfair.

Regarding eloquence, the little king here also quoted the allusion of Han Fei in the Warring States Period. As we all know, Fei Gongzi is slow in speaking, but he is extremely talented.If it weren't for the book of his writings to write down his thoughts, it is very likely that he would be buried in the way of selecting talents in the Spring and Autumn Period.

In fact, in South Korea, this non-gongzi was indeed buried.

Therefore, the method of selecting talents in Zhongshan this time is to discard all possible influencing factors and select talents based on literature, regardless of appearance, regardless of appearance, regardless of eloquence, regardless of family background, regardless of birth, regardless of age, which is rare fairness.

Although those who dared to participate in the selection of talents in Zhongshan Kingdom were basically above the level of appearance, but this "fair" approach of Zhongshan Kingdom immediately satisfied the hearts of these young literary and artistic youths.

The examination papers are opened at sunrise and closed at sunset. The examination questions in the academic research room are all small questions, so the whole paper must be answered, while the national governance room has five major policy questions, and you can choose one to do.

Excluding more than 30 examinees in the "Yi" room, the papers finally obtained adopted the hidden name marking method of later imperial examinations.

Zhi Du, Tai Fu, and Dou Ying will take turns to grade the policy theory, and each paper will be passed by Xia Anran for the last time.

It's not that Xia Anran doesn't believe these three well-educated people, but because he knows that due to the limitations of the times, the words spoken by some talented people cannot be understood by the contemporary people.

In order to prevent missing these talents beyond the times, Xia Anran will also read all these test papers at the end.

Then, he discovered a huge problem.

There are test papers that have been copied, and the words are really messed up.In addition, many students are writing on paper for the first time, and they will use too much force at the beginning. Except for a few copies, most of the writing conditions are very bad.

The font is also the same, because Xia Anran did not specify the font for writing, some scholars used Xiaozhuan to answer the questions, and some used official script.

Xiaozhuan is a simplified version of Dazhuan developed from Dazhuan after referring to the fonts of the six countries after the first emperor unified the country. However, even with the simplification, there are still many actual strokes, so someone invented Lishu.

From his name, we can know that the official script has the meaning of auxiliary, and its positioning is the auxiliary font of Xiaozhuan, because it is convenient to write and is used by the middle and lower classes.

For example, it is similar to the status of Japanese hiragana and real names.

Of course, in the end, official script, like pseudonyms, replaced Xiaozhuan and became the mainstream font of the Han Dynasty due to its convenience and simplicity.But now, the Han Dynasty inherits the Qin system, and the seal script is still the official script.

Reading seal script is a kind of enjoyment. Its body is slender and has a sense of symmetry. It makes people feel extremely comfortable when looking at it. It should be like this, but the change of writing medium also makes the font deflect.

The transformation from bamboo slips to paper is not simple.

It is not easy to adjust the writing habits in the short time after completing an answer sheet.After reading a few copies, Xia Anran said sincerely: "I will try again in the future, I must find someone to copy first."

The three people who were reviewing the papers all showed a smile of approval after they asked what copying was.But this time, I can only give up. It's not that I can't find someone to transcribe, but after going through this exam, the amount of paper saved by Xia Anran has been greatly reduced. Looking at the warehouse with only one floor left, Xiao The prince especially regretted that when collecting straw, he did not collect it from foreign people like Qiguo.

But he had immediately ordered the collection of reeds.

The reeds in autumn and winter are all withered, and in spring they germinate from the bottom of the water. The dead leaves of reeds on the water surface are completely useless. Reeds are also a major raw material for papermaking in modern times.

After chatting for a while, several people bent down and continued to read the papers.Suddenly, Zhidu slammed the case, startling the rest of the people, and saw that Zhidu had a happy expression on his face, looking at everyone with a look of excitement after trying his best to restrain himself: "Your Highness, I'm sorry, but, The minister actually saw the person who answered all the Dharma questions correctly."

The question of Fa was written by Zhidu, but in fact Xia Anran and his mother and brother also contributed to it.

Xia Anran's elder brother is obsessed with using Han law to deceive people after becoming a feudal clan in the future. He can do this naturally because he is familiar with various laws and regulations of the Han Dynasty.Although the little prince hasn't taken over yet, Xia Anran believes that it must be because his elder brother has talent in this area, so before leaving, he asked his elder brother for some relevant information, for fear that he would accidentally make a mistake. It's my fault.

Then the little prince was educated by his brother, and he was taken aback by what he said.

The mood of being a scumbag was passed on to this case analysis question by him, even when he saw this question, he would frown and think for a long time.This question is actually for candidates to identify who has violated the law in the question stem, and according to which regulations and how to punish them.

Candidates need to get out of various routines before they can analyze them thoroughly.

And the most deceitful thing, in this case, no one is really innocent.

One can imagine the great malice of the question maker, and one can also imagine Zhidu's surprise when he saw the correct answer.

Several people immediately gathered around, removed the test paper with their names sealed, and asked in surprise, "Han Ying?"

How could he be here?

This question arose in everyone's mind at the same time.

Who is Han Ying?

He is a person who can confront Dong Zhongshu head-on in the future without falling behind.

This person is the grandson of Han Wangxin and the uncle of Han Yan. He and Han Tui returned to the Han Dynasty together when they were Emperor Wen, and were granted the title of Marquis of Xiangcheng.

Afterwards, the two men, who are brothers in age but uncle and nephew in seniority, develop in the direction of one civil and one military respectively.Han Ying is indeed talented in this way. He was conferred a doctorate in the Wen Dynasty, and he was in charge of the literature and history classics. After that, he compiled "Hanshiwaizhuan", which quoted a lot of works from the early Western Han Dynasty, and explained his thoughts in the form of historical stories. , strictly speaking, resembles a fable.

In other words, this Han Ying's hobby has something to do with writing novels.

Of course, he himself is also a master of Confucianism, but the Confucianism and Taoism he respects is the more orthodox Confucianism and Taoism, which absorbs the ideas of Confucianism and Taoism and transforms and innovates them. Confucianism and Taoism of thought are not the same.

He later debated with Dong Zhongshu. According to historical records, Dong Zhongshu failed to deny him, and the outcome should be a tie, so this one is also an ultimate big talker.

Why is Han Ying, who is a doctor, in Zhongshan?Will you come here to take their recruitment exam?The most important thing is that he answered questions about law, and his purpose was obviously to apply for the position of the head of the judiciary, which is still vacant in Zhongshan Kingdom, that is, the post of doctor censor.

This point is really puzzling, Xia Anran has a feeling that he wanted to catch a salamander, but he caught a shark instead.

fatal...

he thought blankly.If he really pulls this uncle who should still be in the central government and has a title to be his deputy prime minister of Zhongshan, will his father really not have any reaction?

Both Dou Ying and Han Ying were in the Confucian circle in Chang'an City, so they naturally knew him a little bit.Seeing Xia Anran showing hesitation, the two patted their chests and said that Han Ying is indeed a talent, King Zhongshan does not need to worry, if he sincerely applies, His Highness does not mind staying.

Is it really okay?This is poaching the corner of my father!Xia Anran's eyes widened.

The three elders all smiled, saying that it really doesn't matter.

There were too few talents in the Great Han Dynasty, but there were many positions, and it was very common to start and come back, and it was more casual.The emperor digs the corners of the princes and kings, and the princes and kings sometimes come to dig the corners of the emperor. In short, we are all relatives, and digging is healthier.

In a word, in the mighty Han Dynasty, anything could happen.

Xia Anran wiped off her sweat, and silently wrote down the name of this person on the bamboo slips.

But the moment he finished writing, he suddenly thought of something. Han Ying is the grandson of Han Wangxin. In other words, isn't he Han Yan's uncle?

Thinking about the Xiaonen Baozi he caught a glimpse of when he was in full swing for the reading activity for King Jiaodong before he left the palace, he suddenly became curious about this uncle's face.

In subsequent volumes, the three well-educated people occasionally found good authors, but most of them responded mediocrely.

Most of the questions selected by these candidates were natural disasters, but the handling methods were basically stable.However, there were also a few people who told the answers to take precautions before they happened, and mentioned the construction of water conservancy facilities. Xia Anran made a mark on the side of these people, marking them as waiting for an interview.

It took everyone more time than expected to review the papers. The three seniors with ink pens in their hands seemed to be extremely cautious about the right to "determine the person in one stroke". They read each answer paper carefully, and occasionally It will also happen that the money has been transferred to another person and then is taken back.

In this way, the speed will naturally not be fast.

Seeing that the sun was getting dark and the sunlight that could have been borrowed was exhausted, Xia Anran quietly asked someone to take out a candle lamp for illumination.

When the candlestick was placed on the table, none of the three reacted much.Only Dou Ying habitually backed away to avoid the smoke. He felt something was wrong as soon as he moved, and when he looked up again, he saw candles on the table. This Wei Qihou immediately raised his thick eyebrows.

He looked around, seeing that Zhidu and Zhai Yidu didn't react much, he felt strange.

This is a candle.

The king of Zhongshan had just become a vassal not long ago, and he was able to use candles for daily lighting, and seeing the reaction of the other people was extremely calm, obviously they didn't think it was an extremely expensive thing, which shows that it was used normally.

But as far as he knew, His Majesty did not reward him with much property when the Ninth Prince took over.In fact, because Empress Dowager Dou's eyes can't stand smoke, and Her Majesty is extremely filial, most of the candles presented every year are sent to Empress Dowager Dou except for the royal sacrifices.

But because this thing is too expensive, Empress Dowager Dou is not willing to use it on weekdays, and only takes it out at large gatherings.

That being the case, could it be that it was sent up from below?But I have never heard of it before. Although the real estate in Zhongshan is a plain, there are a lot of rice planted, and there are no conditions for releasing bees. There are fewer bees and less wax. Could it be that someone purchased it from other places?

Just when Dou Ying was full of curiosity, Zhidu, who was being watched by his burning eyes, finally turned his head slowly.

Seeing the thirst for knowledge written all over this person's face, he picked off a piece of the candle placed in front of him, and then made a motion to signal him to sniff it.

Dou Ying did so.

After hearing this, he immediately woke up.

The smell of this candle is very fresh, completely different from the smell of beeswax or tribute.Moreover, it can be melted with human body temperature, which is absolutely different from the nature of beeswax.

Eliminate all suspicions, and the answer left, no matter how unbelievable, is the truth.

In addition to kang and papermaking, the Zhongshan Kingdom created a method of making wax?

Zhi Du seemed to have seen through his thoughts, and nodded with a smile.

No matter how calm Wei Qihou was on weekdays, it was difficult to hide his shock at this moment.There are so many strange people and strangers in this Zhongshan country!He looked sideways at the young boy sitting in the main seat.

The latter was sitting in front of the desk, tilting his head slightly, holding a scroll in his hand, his long eyelashes drooping like a crow's feathers, his light-colored lips pursed slightly, with a serious expression.Although the eyebrows and eyes are not fully opened at a young age, you can still see the futuristic and romantic appearance.

Dou Ying sighed softly in his heart, he didn't know why he sighed, maybe it was because he regretted that such a little prince had passed away, or it could be another reason.

Since entering Zhongshan Country, everything he saw was different from what he had seen.

There were no relevant reports about Zhongshan Kingdom before, and when this place was sealed as the fiefdom of the Nine Princes, the courtiers inquired about it in private chats, and they only felt that this place was mediocre, neither rich nor ill-treated, generally above average.

Thinking about it now, it is clear that there are beautiful mountains and rivers here, but it is also a place where talents frequently emerge, where dragons and tigers are hidden.

No matter how big Dou Ying's brain is, she would never have imagined that these inventions were all made by Xia Anran alone.After all, these fields are not connected at all. Even a person who is proficient in Gewuyi is impossible to study in all fields and invent something in each field.

Xia Anran didn't notice Dou Ying's gaze, he was carefully reading one of the test papers under him, and this person chose two questions to answer, which was an unusual way.

That's right, the exam question is to choose one question to answer, but it doesn't say that you can only choose one question.

But there are risks in doing so, because there are definitely good and bad answers, and it depends on the examiner to judge whether the question is good or bad.

——If you think so, you are being shackled.

He wanted to select talents, and these five questions were about the governance methods in different fields, and they were also the stepping stones to enter different departments.

Isn't it fair?Maybe yes, but what Xia Anran wants is not all those who follow the steps, but also those who dare to innovate and change.

Even Han Ying only answered one question before, but now the person in his hands is the only one who has answered two questions so far, one is how to manage natural disasters, and the other is how to train troops.

The former has one or two bright spots, but is generally mediocre, but the latter, judging from Xia Anran's experience, he thinks is very feasible.

Although he probably knows some ways to lead troops, he is not good at it.Among them, the words of strict military discipline, clear military regulations, clear rewards and punishments, and improvement of armor quality are the same as what he thought... um...

Xia Anran raised his eyes, and the attendant who was always watching his movements came forward quietly with small steps. "Go ask Lieutenant Cheng to come," he whispered, and added, "If the lieutenant is busy, you can ask him to come back tomorrow day, there is no rush."

Almost being a bad leader who forced people to work overtime, the little emperor felt guilty in his heart.He put down the paper and took a sip of tea, and when he looked up again, he found that the three people in the room were all looking at him. He paused while drinking tea, and suddenly realized that these people were working overtime, so he said: Hard work, for the sake of eyesight, why not take a break and have some food?"

The few people who didn't mean this actually looked at each other, and suddenly felt that this suggestion was very good.

Seeing that the few people did not refuse, Xia Anran immediately asked someone to pass the meal on. At the same time, he also stood up and moved his body, and suggested very considerately: "It is said that Wei Qihou has come to our Zhongshan Kingdom for a few days, but he has not yet Have you tried the specialties of my Zhongshan country?"

He suddenly smiled brightly: "It's better to hit the sun than to choose the day. Wei Qihou might as well call the young man at home together, it can be regarded as a welcome feast."

That's right, the poor Dou Ying had just arrived in Zhongshan Kingdom to deliver the imperial decree, but after a day's rest, he was dragged into a strong man. In addition to being taken care of for basic necessities of life, there were no banquets, singing and dancing performances, let alone Zhongshan Kingdom Tourist attractions to accompany eating and playing services.Fortunately, Dou Ying has a good temper and doesn't care about it at all.

After being tired for several days, the three civil servants who were quite moved by looking at the fonts of various animals crawling for a long time said that this activity is very good. Of course, there is another reason that Dou Ying is not willing to use candles.

Although Zhongshan King specially lit candles for them for the sake of their eyesight, even if he guessed that the candles should be replaced by some kind of substitute, this is not the case.

The requirements for light are not so high when eating banquets, so naturally you can save on the use of lights!

—and then he saw a house full of candles.

First of all, Xia Anran feels that she is not a luxury person, really.

The same is oil, in his eyes there is no difference between lacquer oil and lamp oil, the key is that lacquer wax is still free, while lamp oil has to be bought from outsiders.Although there is a cost when the fruit is harvested, the price he picked and sent over to attract people is not low.

But I can't stand its high utilization rate.

Wax is extracted from peels, oil is extracted from nuts, and the remaining dregs can be fed to livestock. No matter how bad it is, it can also be fertilized. Once there are multiple uses, the final cost will naturally be lowered.

What's more, the brightness of the lamp is low. In order to ensure the lighting effect, dozens of lamps are put together to gather the light.The lighting effect of the candle is good, and the same brightness only needs half, so the cost is reduced.

It's a pity that his painstaking efforts cannot be known to the three elders.

As soon as the three of them entered the hall, they saw candlesticks with four or five candles lit in several corners of the room. They were still the kind of thick candles with two candle flames lit on top of one candle, and their hearts inevitably surged. .If he hadn't seen the smiling face of the little prince, he might have thrown out an extravagant and lustful attack on the spot.

Xia Anran didn't know what these people were thinking. The court dramas of the Han Dynasty he saw in TV dramas were all brightly lit. A lot of lights were piled up like a bazooka, except for expressing the inner anxiety of a certain character or highlighting the difficulty of the environment. Except for a small lamp, most of them are bright.

His body was also in the palace. When the little prince was born, Jia Meiren already had a son, so his status was already different.Jiamei has no family background, but as a second-class existence in the palace, there is a good-natured Queen Bo above him, so life is naturally enjoyable.

Therefore, King Zhongshan didn't know at all that a banquet in an ordinary family is just a lamp on each table, so that everyone can see each other's faces clearly.After the candle was made, the little prince used golden copper as a candlestick to create a reflective effect.

——But there is no copper mine in Zhongshan, so this extravagant idea was suppressed by him.

As the host of the banquet, Xia Anran sat upright in the hall, when she saw a few beloved courtiers coming over, she immediately got up and went to greet her, which was very polite.However, firstly, he was young, and secondly, there were not so many rules in the early Han Dynasty, and several courtiers just bowed in return, without any restraint on their faces.

Xia Anran's eyes shot around, and then a big question mark hung on her head, asking Dou Ying, where is the little nephew?

Dou Ying was also puzzled, but as an excellent elder, he still turned sideways and introduced his nephew to the little prince: "Your Highness, this is my nephew named Dou Wan. Ah Wan, come to see Your Highness."

Xia Anran's face turned dark all of a sudden.

Nephew, what he wants is a small soft one, not the one taller and stronger than him!

The young man named Dou Wan inherited the glorious tradition of the Dou family. He is tall, fair and of course handsome.

Introduced by Dou Ying, the child walked forward slowly, bowed to Xia Anran who was beaten into a babble, and said in his mouth: "I have met His Royal Highness Zhongshan King, I hope that His Royal Highness will be happy and worry-free."

At this time, His Highness, who was full of disappointment, saw someone bowing to him, but none of them reacted, and bowed back.Fortunately, he woke up in time and didn't let the week go on, he insisted on maintaining a slightly higher angle than the other party.

Xia Anran smiled kindly on her face, but her hair exploded with fright in her heart.