March 15th is the day of the imperial examination.
The palace examination was the last level of the three-level imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty. The emperor personally went to Fengtian Palace to give examination questions. Therefore, the administrative level of the imperial examination officials participating in the palace examination is very high. Most of the examiners for the palace examination are Jiuqing (the six ministers, the imperial envoys of the Duchayuan, the ministers of Dali Temple, and the general affairs envoy). The examiners for this palace examination will be Liu Ji, the great scholar of the Jinshen Palace, the crown prince, and Wang Shu, the prince's Taibao official minister, led the way.
After the imperial examination, officials were awarded directly. The number one scholar was awarded the title of editor (from the sixth grade), the second and third best candidates were awarded the editor (the seventh grade), those who were selected from the second and third grade were all Hanlin officials, and the others served as censors, The lowest level can also be the magistrate of a county.
Li Jie got up early that day. He passed the imperial examination and finally came to an end. Although he may not be the top candidate, he should be in the top 10 even if he is worse, so he feels quite relaxed.
After breakfast, Li Jie and Lin Lan went out together, took the examination box and got on the carriage to Daming Gate.
The rising sun is rising, and the warm winter sun shines on the palace palace, shining golden, as if it has covered the entire palace with a sacred coat.
The Daming Gate is the main entrance to the imperial city. The couplets written in Jin by the great scholar Xie Jin of the Hongwu Dynasty are on both sides. Behind the Daming Gate is the imperial city, where the emperor resides.
When Li Jie and the two arrived at the Daming Gate, the palace gate had not yet opened. Other tributes arrived one after another. During the palace examination, there was no inspection like the previous provincial examination and the general examination, because there were no inspections under the eyes of the important ministers at that time. Who dares to cheat? Besides, there is only one policy question in the imperial examination, so there is no way to cheat.
At this moment, everyone in front of the door looked happy and relaxed, because there has never been a precedent for dismissal in the palace examination. Being able to stand here means that one has already set foot on the official career. Basically, the ranking will not be much different from the previous examination. difference.
Because the policy questions in the imperial examination required more than 1,000 words, and the marking time was only two days, the marking was quite rough. The examiner selects the top candidate from the countermeasure paper, and the chief minister of the cabinet will personally comment on it. The remaining candidates will be reviewed by other examiner ministers. The one with the highest score will be ranked first, and the one with the next highest rank will be ranked second. Then the chief assistant will judge the candidate according to the examiner. According to the grades, the first grade will be judged as second grade, and the second grade will be graded as third grade. The strategies for the top candidates must be submitted to the Wenhua Palace to be read to the emperor, who will make the final decision on the ranking.
The surrounding scholars who knew Li Jie paid tribute to him one after another when they saw him. Many of the scholars saw Li Jie for the first time, and their eyes were focused on him.
"Seeing is worth hearing a hundred times. I didn't expect Huiyuan Lang to be so young!"
"We have never seen a fourteen-year-old Huiyuan in our dynasty. Even if he doesn't win the top spot this time, he is unprecedented and probably no one will come after him."
"I have read his articles for the general examination, and his writing skills are not inferior to those of literary giants."
"I heard from Mr. Xu Ge's house that his three policy questions in this meeting are the most amazing. Mr. Ge commented that he is a true scholar of the country, a pillar of the imperial court, and a pillar of the future!"
Liu Yu heard the discussions around him, and when he thought about what he had done that day, these words struck his heart, reminding him that he was just a clown. The more he thought about it, the drier his face became, and he soon started to sweat. As rain fell, people around him asked him what was wrong, and he replied with a bitter look: "It's nothing, maybe he caught a cold yesterday, it's nothing serious."
Li Jie accepted the looks and comments around him calmly. After a while, the Daming Gate opened wide. According to the guidance of the Honglu Temple officials, Li Jie was at the top, followed by the other four Five Classics leaders. The rest were ranked according to the examination. Followed by.
boom!
The salute sounded, and Li Jie led a group of tributes through the Daming Gate and formally entered the imperial city. At this time, the palace was not called the Forbidden City. It was not until the Wanli Dynasty rebuilt the "Da Ming Huidian" that the palace was called the "Forbidden City". Jin Wuwei, the imperial examination inspector, was on both sides of the queue and guided Li Jie and his companions forward, passing through Chengtianmen, Duanmen, and Meridian Gate, and arriving at Fengtianmen.
Fengtianmen is the main entrance to the courtyard of the three main halls of the outer dynasty. In the courtyard, the Jinshui River is as horizontal as a jade belt, winding through it. There are white marble railings standing on both sides of the Jinshui River. There are five Feihong Bridges built in the middle section of the river, as if inlaid on the jade belt. It is completely different from the narrow imperial street between the Duanmen and the Meridian Gate. After entering the Meridian Gate, the space suddenly changes and becomes enlightened. In the majestic and majestic atmosphere, people can't help but direct their eyes to the three main hall buildings.
Fengtian Hall (today's Taihe Hall), Jinshen Hall (today's Zhonghe Hall), and Huagai Hall (today's Baohe Hall) are collectively known as the three main halls of the outer dynasties. This examination took place in Fengtian Hall, which was struck by lightning during the Jiajing period. , after reconstruction, it was changed to Huangji Hall, and during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to Taihe Hall.
Arriving in front of the Fengtian Palace, the ministers who served as the palace examination examiners had already arrived. Most of these officials were wearing crimson official robes (one to four grades), and only a few were in green robes (five to seven grades).
Li Jie noticed that the positions of these big guys were obviously divided into two factions. One faction was headed by the chief minister of the cabinet Liu Ji, and the other faction was headed by the cabinet ministers Xu Pu and Liu Jian. They were clearly divided. Most of them were headed by Liu Ji. The courtiers during the Xianzong period belonged to the old forces, while Xu Pu and Liu Jian were the emerging forces who added Wan'an and Yin Zhi to the cabinet at the beginning of Xiaozong's succession.
Just looking at the current performance of the two factions, Li Jie thought that things were not calm in the court, and he did not even do the minimum superficiality. The two factions must be in the same situation, and then he thought that the candidates for the First A were drafted and submitted by the chief minister of the cabinet. , he is the Huiyuan appointed by Xu Pu against all opinions, and this time the position of the number one scholar may be in doubt.
When the officials in front of Lord Dan heard the footsteps, they knew that it was the Xinke Gongshi who had arrived in front of the palace, and turned around to look at everyone.
Dozens of glances came over. In the solemn atmosphere and the status bonus of the big bosses, the scholars were all worried and did not dare to look at each other. Only Li Jie looked at him calmly. Xu Pu smiled when he saw this. He nodded. Every year when tribute ministers come to Fengtian Temple, they have to undergo the baptism of the eyes of the big bosses. Most of them are at a loss, and very few of them are happy to look at them.
Liu Ji noticed Xu Pu looking down with a smile on his face and a satisfied expression on his face. He snorted coldly, showing a bad look on his face, and secretly thought to himself that I will look good on you during the marking!
He turned to look at Lin Han. Lin Han was also assigned to serve as the examiner for the palace examination this time. Liu Ji looked at him meaningfully. Unfortunately, this Lin Han was different from his teacher Peng Hua. He was upright and dishonest. A, honest and self-sufficient, is a die-hard supporter of Xu Pu.
Lin Han noticed that the eyes of Chief Assistant Liu Ji were on him, and suddenly felt something bad. He was secretly worried about Li Jie's imperial examination. Fortunately, it was the emperor who finally decided the ranking. Liu Ji only needed to put Li Jie's test paper into the top three. , Xu Shangshu will never turn a blind eye, and there will be room for maneuver when the time comes. He is still very confident in Li Jie's policy. As long as the emperor can see it, there is no need to worry.
All the officials and scholars present looked thoughtful. At this time, three salutes were fired and palace music sounded.
