After the New Year's Eve.
The excitement continued, and officials visited the Five Mountains Temple and the Yuqing Palace one after another.
After a few more days of excitement, the lights were finally turned off.
The people of Bianjing went out to visit the capital one after another, which was very lively again.
To the south of the capital, there are places such as Yuxian Temple and Wang Taiwei Garden. To the east of the city, there are places such as Happy Forest outside the gate, Bo Napi, Dule Gang, Inkstone, Spider Tower, Maijiayuan and other places.
In the north of the state, there is Li Prince Consort Garden.
After passing Jinmingchi in the west of the state, there are more things to do.
Mostly near the capital. They are all gardens. Within a hundred miles. There is no land.
When everyone visited the spring, it was the time when the imperial students from various states and counties were being elected to the capital, and it was also the time when the imperial students were preparing for the August exams of the Imperial College.
It only lasts for half a year.
Zhang Yue, who is the chief of the village, planned to draw a countdown card on the water card similar to "how many days are left until the college entrance examination." But after feedback from my classmates, it was too stressful to face such a brand every day, so I decided to forget it.
Zhang Yue understood that Tai students were indeed more stressed than senior high school students.
Senior high school students can repeat the study the next year, while undergraduates must wait at least two years, and sometimes even five years. Perhaps they secretly hope that the official family of the Song Dynasty will collapse immediately, because the new emperor will start enke after he ascends the throne.
If you fail an exam, you have to wait two or three years. How many two or three years do you have to waste in your life?
Now that the weather is getting warmer, Zhang Yue still insists on going out to Taixue for morning jogging every day.
This has become Zhang Yue's habit.
Zhang Yue made a trip and was about to return to Taixue, when he met an acquaintance in Qijiyuan next to Taixue.
The other party was wearing a blue official robe, followed by several attendants carrying luggage, and four or five officials were waiting to greet him.
"Senior Brother Ziping!" Zhang Yue shouted loudly.
The other party turned around and smiled: "Yes, Saburo!"
That's right, this person is none other than Zhang Heng and Zhang Ziping.
Zhang Yue stepped forward and asked, "When did Senior Brother Ziping return to Beijing?"
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "I have completed my term in Huzhou. Now I am recalled by the imperial court to go to Beijing to report on my duties before being assigned a new appointment. Now I live in Chaojiyuan."
Zhang Yue thought to himself, "It's so fast. It seems like yesterday that Zhang Heng won the first prize."
Unexpectedly, he has been in office for three years.
The official system of the Song Dynasty was conducted once every year and was elected every three years. However, for those who were appointed as officials of the Beijing Dynasty, their terms were every two years except for the Supervisor, who was appointed for a term of three years.
Zhang Heng had only served as an official for two years. After all, he was the number one scholar who only served as a local official for a resume. In the end, he had to return to the central government and be awarded a post.
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Unexpectedly, Senior Brother Ziping has finished his term. From now on, I will have time to visit him from time to time."
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "Of course, I have some free time today, so let's go sit under the house, Sanlang."
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Then I would rather obey your orders than be respectful."
Zhang Yue immediately followed Zhang Heng into Chaojiyuan.
This Chaojiyuan is equivalent to the Jinzouyuan of the Tang Dynasty. It was an official residence built by the imperial court in the fourth year of Xianfeng period when officials were exempted from returning to work. They lived in hotels to affect the image of the imperial court.
However, according to Zhang Yue's knowledge, officials were actually subject to many restrictions after living in Chaojiyuan.
Therefore, many officials came here quietly when they came to Beijing, first hiding in the old homes of relatives, sending people to inquire about information, or to smooth the relationship. After everything was settled, they reported to the pavilion gate and waited for the officials to summon them.
After Zhang Yue and Zhang Heng took their seats.
Zhang Heng said that after entering Beijing, he immediately reported to the pavilion gate, and then notified Chaojiyuan from the pavilion gate, and then the people of Kaifeng Mansion welcomed him to Chaojiyuan.
After hearing this, Zhang Yue thought to himself, "That's not right. When you came to Beijing, you went to report and waited for the emperor to summon you. During this period, you did not do anything to smoothen the relationship. After the report is correct, it is very likely that you will not be assigned a good official position."
As for entering the court, it will be difficult. All entrances and exits must be accompanied by soldiers from Kaifeng Prefecture. Except for the temples, provincial departments, Quan Cao's official offices, and other places, they are not allowed to go anywhere.
Fortunately, I can receive guests, but I have to register my name.
All of this is, of course, to prevent officials from running away from office in Beijing, and also to prevent them from using their time in Beijing to form cliques for personal gain.
Therefore, many officials have learned a lesson and sneaked into Beijing to settle the relationship before moving into Chaojiyuan.
As for Zhang Heng, it was obvious that he had no such intentions and everything followed normal procedures.
Zhang Yue sat down in Zhang Heng's house. Zhang Heng looked at Zhang Yue and said with a smile, "I just saw him and ran away for a while. What were you doing?"
Zhang Yue said: "After I entered Imperial College, I ran several miles or even ten miles every morning. It was the same as when my senior brother was in Zhoujin Hall, he shot arrows to keep fit."
Zhang Heng laughed and said: "That's true, but you will easily sweat after running, and you will easily catch wind and cold through sweat through heavy clothes, so it is better to shoot arrows."
Zhang Yue thought to himself, yes, this is why scholars in the past did not recommend running for exercise. You will sweat while running. The ancients did not have the conditions to bathe frequently, so it would be good if they could change their clothes every ten days.
However, since Zhang Yue entered the Imperial Academy, he still followed the habits of later generations. Bath often or prepare a lot of clothes to change.
Zhang Heng immediately gave Zhang Yue his own clothes to change into.
Zhang Yue thanked him and said: "Senior brother is right, I also want to be barbaric in body and civilized in spirit. After all, studying is like climbing a mountain. It will never be possible without a good body."
Zhang Heng laughed after hearing this and said: "Barbaric in body, civilized in spirit, it seems like this is the first time I have heard of it."
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "I also run every day, and I like it more and more. I don't know how many miles I have run. Anyway, it is the intersection of this street today and that alley tomorrow."
"It's better to go a little farther each time. It will feel hard when you run, but when you finally arrive, you will have a sense of accomplishment in your heart."
"Senior brother, do you know what this feeling is? It's the feeling that every time you run to the place within your reach, you seem to be reaching immortality."
Zhang Heng smiled and said: "The feeling of ascending to immortality, the more Sanlang talks about it, the more interesting it becomes. What kind of truth are you trying to say?"
Zhang Yue said: "Yes, senior brother, this is when all my wishes come true, and it is also when I identify with myself the most. At this time, I don't have the worries about gains and losses that I usually have when studying. To put it bluntly, I don't fight with myself."
Zhang Heng nodded and said: "It makes sense. Studying is like climbing a mountain, and the long journey of life is like this. From one peak to another, there are higher peaks, one peak after another, but when you reach the top, that's..."
Zhang Yue said: "This is the moment when I become most attached to the Tao."
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "Sanlang is right. After I won the top prize, my joy did not last long. The most important thing is the relief and clarity that I will be the best in the future."
"I am the No. 1 scholar, that is, the most outstanding person among scholars in the world. At this moment, you can put aside the Tao of body and function, and there is no need to pursue where the Tao is, because I have become one with the Tao. In other words, I am road."
"When I am the Tao, I can forget myself and have no self. At that moment, I will feel more calm and peaceful about other things, and I can handle things with ease without doubting myself."
"This is what Zen Buddhism calls 'attaining the Tao'. From ancient times to the present, there are two ways to achieve the Tao. The first is self-enlightenment, the so-called knowing one's mind and seeing one's nature. This is also a method used by many Zen practitioners."
"But there is also a class of emperors, generals and ministers, who are number one among scholars. It can be said that they have achieved success step by step. Finally, they climbed to the top and saw the scenery that people at the foot of the mountain have never seen. Therefore, they are also enlightened people. Sanlang, do you understand what I mean?"
Zhang Yue nodded.
Zhang Heng was encouraging himself.
How to attain enlightenment?
The first is to achieve a clear mind and see one's nature, to truly and completely understand oneself.
There is also a level that reaches the pinnacle. When you climb to the highest peak, that is "I am the peak at the top of the mountain", and you are the one who is infinite or closest to the Tao.
This is the peak experience.
Be the first person in any industry. This is the time when this person achieves the most perfect self-realization. At this time, you are the most perfect version of yourself. You will see things more clearly and keenly, and you will overcome many negative emotions in the past.
Dominate yourself and the industry.
To put it bluntly, it is the pursuit of success.
Continuous success, and finally the greatest success, will make people constantly affirm themselves, and gradually undergo radical changes. When they are completely certain of themselves, it is the time of self-realization. The heart is not influenced by external rules. This is the Tao.
Those who can understand everything without success are the realm pursued by transcendental philosophy.
The former is difficult to do, and there are too few people who can achieve it. At the same time, it is impossible to define what the greatest success is.
The latter is easier to do, but according to Zen Buddhism, there are still many people who can achieve enlightenment.
But Zhang Yue understood from Zhang Heng's words that he wanted to take the road to success on his own.
Zhang Yue couldn't help but ask: "Senior Brother Ziping, will you achieve Taoism if you win the top prize?"
Zhang Heng shook his head and smiled: "Otherwise, in fact, among the scholars in the same discipline, I am not the best in terms of talent. To be fair, I am still not as good as your second brother after all."
Zhang Yue did not expect that Zhang Heng and Zhang Dun would fight for so long, but finally admitted that Zhang Dun was better than him.
Zhang Heng said: "When you first entered the clan academy, I thought you looked a lot like Zi Hou. Later I found out that you were Zi Hou's younger brother, and I was relieved. But now that I have met you... I feel that your talents are not necessarily weak. Yu Zihou."
Zhang Yue heard this and said without confidence: "Is Senior Brother Ziping telling the truth?"
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "I've heard a little bit about what happened between you and your second brother. The merits of this are family matters after all, so I can't comment. If you want to compete, stand taller than him!"
Zhang Yue said: "Senior brother is right, I will not engage in unnecessary disputes."
Zhang Heng said: "I was the top pick in the rankings in the second year of Jiayou. Your brother was fifth in the rankings in the fourth year of Jiayou. Now it's your turn in the sixth year of Jiayou. You should stand up."
Zhang Heng glanced at Zhang Yue, and there was one more thing he didn't tell him.
Zhang Wangzhi of the clan offended Cai Xiang, and now a major case is brewing. As Zhang Wangzhi's son, he will definitely stand up for him. I wonder if Zhang Yue will be involved.
Zhang Yue returned to Zhaishe from Zhang Heng that day.
He thought about it in his dream all night, and mentioned the two words "Fajie" where he originally read in the dream, but after thinking about it he felt that he had no ambition, so he changed it to "Jinshi", and finally thought about it. It was called "Provincial Yuan", and later I thought about it and changed it to "Zhuangyuan".
It's ridiculous to say that.
The next day, Zhang Yue woke up and was shocked when he looked at the roof.
I don’t know who it was, but the word ‘number one scholar’ was written on the beam!
Could it be that he saw a ghost?
