Many people will have some misunderstandings about the "responsibility" of the emperor's profession. They think that the emperor's responsibility is to make the people live and work in peace and contentment, to make the court stable and harmonious, to make the seas, rivers and rivers clear, and the world to be in good order.
In fact, it is neither.
The purpose and greatest responsibility of all emperors throughout the ages, and most of them, is to maintain the continuation of their own rule and to pass on their country as long as possible.
The reason why we govern the country and educate the people, and why we fight chaos and provide disaster relief, are all just means to achieve this goal.
After all, the people can't live without it, and if they can't live anymore, this rule will end.
This is fundamentally different from later generations.
Therefore, in the eyes of Queen Mother Sun, no matter what happened in the court, it was not as important as the succession of the Li family or the little emperor giving her a grandson.
The emperor was still afraid of Empress Dowager Sun.
After all, since he ascended the throne at the age of ten, although he is nominally the emperor, the actual supreme ruler in the court is actually the Queen Mother.
Some major matters in Zhongshu that required the emperor to make decisions were handed over to the Kunde Palace and handed over to the Queen Mother.
Therefore, after hearing my mother's words, the emperor sighed helplessly and said: "Queen Mother, since you insist, you should pay more attention to the matter of establishing a queen and a concubine. When the time comes, your sons and ministers will cooperate with you."
Seeing that her son had surrendered, Queen Mother Sun nodded with satisfaction and said, "That daughter of the Zhao family of Northern Qi..."
She glanced at the little emperor and asked, "How are you going to deal with it?"
The little emperor felt helpless and said, "It all depends on the mother's wishes."
Empress Dowager Sun's eyes widened and she said slowly: "According to the Ai family's wishes, this Zhao family girl can enter the palace and be made a noble concubine. After all, there are many princesses from our Li family in Yandu. My son will marry a Zhao family girl." , it’s not a loss, and it can avoid a military disaster..."
"Let's do this. Tomorrow my mother will send someone to invite her to the palace to see her. After all, she has been in Jiankang for so long. It would not be good to keep her missing."
"Let's talk about other things after we meet her."
The little emperor was silent for a while and said silently: "Queen Mother, it's natural to accept her into the palace, but..."
Mother and son are connected. He only said half a sentence, but Queen Mother Sun already understood that this woman with the highest status in Da Chen had a calm face and lowered her eyebrows and said: "Don't worry, my son, she will not have any heirs."
There is a shortage of all kinds of medicine in the harem, except for the medicine that makes it impossible to have children.
As the final "champion" of the last harem brawl, Empress Dowager Sun can be said to have mastered these methods at her fingertips.
The little emperor nodded silently, stood up and bowed his head to his mother, then said goodbye and left Kunde Palace.
After leaving Kunde Palace, he got on his chariot and returned to the study room, Manna Hall.
After closing his eyes and resting for a while in the Manna Hall, His Majesty the Emperor opened his eyes and lowered his eyebrows and said, "Gao Ming, is there nothing wrong with the Gongyuan Spring Festival today?"
Eunuch Gao lowered his head and said, "Back to Your Majesty, there are several people from the yamen watching over the Gongyuan. The exam has started now, so there won't be any problems."
"Um…"
His Majesty the Emperor nodded slightly, turned to look at Eunuch Gao, and suddenly asked: "Gao Ming, what kind of queen do you think I should marry?"
The eunuch Gao was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, how dare this servant dare to discuss the master..."
"Just say it when I tell you to."
The little emperor let out a breath and said, "You have been with me in the East Palace since I was a child. We can talk about anything between master and servant."
Eunuch Gao still knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I think your Majesty should marry a queen who is upright and benevolent and can be in charge of the harem..."
Having said this is like saying nothing.
The little emperor frowned, then waved his hand and sighed: "That's all, go down and do your work. Keep an eye on Gongyuan and don't make any mistakes."
"There are all my future disciples."
Eunuch Gao lowered his head and went down.
The little emperor sat alone in the Manlu Hall, looking at the memorials that had piled high in front of him, and sighed slightly: "When I was a child, I heard my father say that he was a loner, and I still didn't understand it. Now I finally understand. I will My married wife…”
The little emperor looked outside the Manlu Palace, his eyes slightly lost in thought: "What will it look like?"
At this time, His Majesty the Emperor still hoped that someone would come out to discuss this issue with him, but unfortunately, he stood too high and there was no one around him to talk to.
Even Gao Ming, who had grown up with him since childhood, was trembling when facing him and did not dare to say a true word.
…………
On the other side, Shen was still struggling hard in the Gongyuan.
The questions in the first session of the examination are Mo Yi and Tie Jing.
This level is not difficult for most people, as long as there are not too many mistakes or omissions.
But just because everyone knows it, it is even more difficult to excel at this level.
Shen Yi spent half a day reviewing the topic and writing a draft.
On the morning of the second day of the examination, after he had slept well, he got up and started transcribing the test papers.
Shen Yi wrote very carefully during the transcription process. After all, it was an exam related to his future.
Of course, the imperial examination did not have the kind of "paper marking" of later generations, because after the papers were collected, everyone's test papers would be transcribed again by a dedicated person, and then their names would be written on the paper to form a unified handwriting and prevent the examiner from taking advantage of it. The handwriting identifies the candidate.
But you still have to be serious.
After the pilot test, the original paper may be released.
The first trial was held in the Gongyuan on the morning of February 24th. Shen Yi walked out of the Gongyuan before sunset on the afternoon of February 26th.
After returning home, Shen Yi did not dare to eat spicy food. He only followed Shen Ling and others and ate some simple meals.
After all, if you feel unwell or have diarrhea at this time, it will seriously affect the subsequent examination process.
On the morning of February 27th, Shen Yi entered the examination room again and began the second session of the examination.
This scene is an essay, which is similar to the composition questions of later generations. Someone gives a topic and writes an article using this topic.
Most of these topics come from the Four Books and Five Classics, or some quotations from saints and Taizu.
As for the policy discussion in the third session, it is somewhat similar to political questions. Most of them are related to current affairs and require candidates to give a countermeasure.
Let's put it this way, the second test is about literary talent, and the third test is more about vision and literary talent.
On the morning of the 27th, Shen Yi didn't feel sleepy at all. He sat in the examination room and waited for the test questions.
After all the candidates entered the venue, the officials from the Ministry of Etiquette rang the gong, and then the yamen began to hand out papers from one examination room to another.
Shen Yi's exam room No. 27 was located in a remote location. By the time he got the exam questions, it was already early in the morning.
After Shen Yi took over the test questions, he sat back in his seat. After turning over the white paper on the first layer of the test paper, Shen Yi finally saw the questions for the second spring test this year.
"There are nine scriptures for all countries in the world."
"It's called kissing."
Seeing this topic, Shen Yi was stunned for a moment, then immediately frowned.
Not because it’s too difficult, but because it’s not difficult!
Just because it’s not difficult, everyone can do it, but it’s extremely difficult to stand out among thousands of candidates!
As soon as Shen Yi thought of this, he heard wailing in the nearby examination room.
Obviously, everyone is thinking the same thing as Shen Yi.
Soon, an official shouted angrily.
"Silence!"
"If you make any more noise, you will be driven out of Gongyuan immediately!"
