"boom"
Hundreds of people were listening with their breaths closed, and they could hear the drop of a needle, and did not dare to take a breath in this situation. But as soon as these words were spoken, there was chaos, and many people couldn't help but talk aloud.
In the spring of this dynasty, there were three chief examiners, one chief and two deputy examiners, and 14 co-examiners, for a total of 17 people. The Liu Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel mentioned by Zhang Modong was one of the two deputy examiners in this spring. .
Therefore, after Zhang Modong finished speaking, the whole audience was shocked. The deputy examiner revealed that this was going to be a big case!
Zhang Modong's words came out, and he finally woke up. He was frightened, frightened, and horrified, and his face turned pale. Who was Liu Shilang from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the mysterious person who threatened him?
It's not like that. It's impossible for the Minister of Civil Affairs to stay in the hotel for a long time, and it's impossible for him not to be known by others. But if that's the case, why would he suddenly recruit this person?
I didn't know this person before. What was going on? Even if it was a mysterious person, I only knew that it was an adult who contacted me. I didn't know who this person was. Why did he just say he was Liu Shilang and bite him randomly?
Could it be that he was frightened by this incident and went crazy? No, no, he was very sober. Could it be that he was possessed?
The reactions of the people around him were also seen by Zhang Modong. He was shocked and frightened, and immediately regretted: "No, the villain is talking nonsense, this is nonsense, it is not true!"
But no matter what Zhang Modong said at this time, people around him would not believe it.
What nonsense can you tell Liu Shilang from the Ministry of Civil Affairs? Why don't you bite someone who is here, but insist on biting someone who is not here and is a deputy examiner?
If you say this is made up, who would believe it?
Zhao Xu glanced at the two scholars standing next to him and felt that these two people were quite handsome.
Someone nearby reminded in a low voice: "Sir, one of these two people is named Yu Lu and the other is Fang Xi. They are both Juren of Linhua County. It was these two who reported this Mo Dong."
The two of them are Yu Lu Fang Xi, the governor of Linhua County?
Linhua County...
Zhao Xu suddenly remembered that the reason why this place felt familiar to him was because there was a great big shot here - Taisun.
Taisun grew up in Linhua County. These two people must be the friends that Taisun made in Linhua County that I heard before?
For a moment, Zhao Xu's heart beat violently, and he immediately realized something was wrong. He suddenly felt an ominous feeling that something big was about to happen. He didn't have time to change his mind, so he just looked at it and withdrew his gaze.
"Where is Minister Liu?" Zhao Xu asked.
Someone in the crowd replied: "Master Chief Assistant, Liu Shilang is the deputy examiner and should be in Gongyuan already."
Yes, Liu Shilang is one of the deputy examiners of Chunwei this time.
Zhao Xu's eyes were dark for a moment, but hundreds of people looked at him and had to make a decision, let alone hesitate. He immediately gave a stern order: "This is a big deal, Mr. Tan and Mr. Liang, seal the Gongyuan immediately. , no one is allowed in or out, take down Liu Shiquan, don’t allow him to burn a piece of paper, swallow a piece of paper, let alone commit suicide, I’m going to see the emperor right away!”
With that said, he directly asked people to prepare the bullock cart. .
Liang Yuyin said: "Master Chief Assistant, the Gongyuan has deployed armored soldiers. Anyone who intrudes will be shot without mercy. We can't seal it..."
"Take it!" Zhao Xu waved his hand and took out a golden token. Although it didn't say "I am here in person", it still had the word "imperial order".
Liang Yuyin immediately took it, and saw that Zhao Xu had no time to change clothes, so he kept shouting. After a while, an oxcart came out, and wearing this ordinary clothes, he got on the car and headed towards the palace.
Carrying official uniforms in the ox cart, you can change your clothes on the way without being rude.
"What a shame, I was taken advantage of."
Tan Ping and Liang Yuyin looked at each other, and had no time to argue here. They ordered with a gloomy face: "Come, any of you, please ride out immediately, go to Gongyuan, and seal it off!"
"Hold the token and capture Liu Shilang without any mistakes!"
"Yes!" Several head catchers responded immediately, took the token, got on their horses, and galloped away.
Gongyuan
Gongyuan has always been the most important place for the imperial court's talent promotion ceremony. It has many scriptures and repairs. Due to its special nature, a high wall is built, which is one foot or four feet high. Entering along the main road, there are three archways and an area of 300 acres. , which can accommodate up to 20,000 candidates.
This fashion has been around since the cold stars filled the sky, but with the morning glow, the vendors and stall owners on the streets have begun to line up to do business.
Although the weather is still a little cold, especially in the morning and evening, it is much better than in winter.
On a street next to Gongyuan, business is better today than in the past.
Some locals who were worried about their family members not only sent their scholars to the gate of Gongyuan, but also had breakfast nearby, and they might have to wait for the exam to start before leaving.
People in twos and threes were sitting at simple tables and chairs on the side of the road, eating with their heads down, looking at the people waiting in line from time to time.
"Did you see that? They are all queuing up. They are already checking at the front."
At this time, there were already a lot of lanterns, and people held one in their hands and slowly moved towards one place.
"That's called the Council Hall. Even though it has a good name, these people must take off their clothes and strips in this hall, even exposing their buttocks, for inspection by the officials in the Gongyuan - don't laugh, someone will just put the note in it Go on the dry road."
"I also tore apart all the other cookies I brought to prevent any stolen goods."
"Ah, isn't this a polite way of sweeping the floor?"
"What's the point? You're not a scholar. You don't know. Even if it's a county test, a county test, or a provincial test, it's actually the same. A scholar has to pass these tests."
They were just talking and eating wontons or biscuits. At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from far to near. It sounded very urgent, and everyone who heard it couldn't help but raise their heads and look towards the source of the sound.
"cavalry?"
"what happened?"
"problem occurs?"
Some people whispered that riding a horse in the capital was not a trivial matter. If you were not responsible for your job, you would probably be convicted by the government.
Even if a powerful dandy rides a horse in the city for no reason, his father and brother who are officials will definitely be impeached by the censor.
However, a group of cavalry quickly galloped past. These people were obviously official servants and were fully armed. They must be on an errand!
But why did the man on errands come here? Could it be that a major case occurred near Gongyuan?
"Something happened, something big happened."
A family that can produce a member of the family is naturally not an ordinary citizen who doesn't understand anything. They know the importance of Gongyuan and Chunwei and make way for them.
"Even if ten or eight people die, we will definitely press it down and wait until the Spring Festival is over before checking. We can't wait now. It's broken, something happened, something big happened."
In an instant, many people stood up, a little worried about the people who had just entered and queued up.
But they were not qualified to enter the Gongyuan. Even if they were worried, they could only suppress their anxiety and prepare to find someone to inquire.
At the tribute courtyard, many people were queuing up, holding lanterns and preparing to enter.
As a result, a sound of horse hooves was heard. Juren, who was waiting in the back row, could see clearly who was coming and felt a little uneasy. Waves of commotion spread from the back to the front.
"What happened?"
"Did something happen inside?"
"In the important place of Gongyuan, no horses are allowed, let alone trespassing!" Seeing the cavalry dismounting and charging forward, the guarding Qianhu couldn't help it. With a wave of his hand, dozens of armored soldiers suddenly poured out, glaring at Dandan with their swords drawn.
"The chief assistant has given an order to close the place immediately."
"The Gongyuan is temporarily closed. No one outside is allowed to enter, and those who have already entered are not allowed to leave. We are waiting for the result. If anyone breaks in, we will take it down!"
The head catcher strode forward, walked directly to the front, "invited" the person who was about to let people in to the side, and showed his token to Qianhu.
Qianhu hesitated for a moment, then took the token and checked it. It was golden and heavy, and it was indeed the "imperial order" second only to "I am here in person".
Talking about the system, originally everything in Gongyuan must be dealt with by an imperial edict, but this can be regarded as an expedient edict, and with the order of the chief minister, Qianhu hesitated for a while, but still opened the way.
"What? Gongyuan is temporarily closed? No entry or exit is allowed?"
Could it be that fraud had occurred? This was the first reaction of all Juren present.
However, these people did not give them an answer. They left two people standing at the door to stop others, while the remaining people rushed in directly.
"Hey, what's going on with you guys?"
Gongyuan also had its own people, including officials and scribes temporarily recruited from various yamen by the Rites Department to deal with sealing, receiving volumes, supplying, reading, and copying. When they saw this, they couldn't help but be shocked.
"You're just a patrol camp, but you dare to break into the Gongyuan?"
Several scribes have always looked down upon such low-level officials, so some of them directly tried to stop him.
"Push them away, quickly, go in and arrest them."
There is a saying that goes, "When a scholar encounters soldiers, he cannot explain why." Although these scribes are not scholars, they still have no power to stop them when they encounter these "soldiers" and are thrown aside directly. The head catcher had no time to respond and rushed in directly.
Eunuch Wang Jinzhong was already in the Gongyuan at this time. He glanced around and saw that there were lights hanging under the eaves and the windows were bright. Everyone must have gotten up to do errands. He took a few steps in the courtyard and the stars were still there, giving people a refreshing feeling. , very comfortable.
"Let's get busy, but it's a pity that it's all in vain." Seeing everyone busy, Wang Jinzhong, if he were a eunuch before, would have cooperated, but he didn't interfere at this time. After all, he couldn't pass the Chunwei exam.
"As soon as the Juren enter the scene and Zhang Modong takes action, I can immediately intervene on behalf of the Emperor and the Imperial City Secretary to control the situation and never give anyone a chance to breathe."
"It was the foresight of the Emperor and the Imperial City Department that allowed me to respond here."
Just as he was thinking this, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a shadow flashing past.
What is it?
Wang Jinzhong stopped and looked in that direction, but he didn't see anyone. However, the shadow that just ran past didn't look like a human at all. It seemed like a dog?
There are people raising dogs in this place? Or maybe a wild dog ran in?
Shaking his head, Wang Jinzhong was about to look away, but paused and walked over.
"Silver?" He bent down and picked up what he saw, and found that it was actually an ingot of silver. After weighing it, it was about five taels.
Originally, it was not uncommon to find silver in this place. The people who could contribute to the Tribute Court were not from the lowest level. It was normal to carry some silver and banknotes with them.
But it is spring now. In order not to leak the examination questions, all examiners and scribes must close the door tightly after entering. All food and clothing are sent in from outside, and you can't buy anything with money.
"Who is so stupid and still has money?"
However, although Wang Jinzhong was not short of silver, he picked up five taels of silver for no reason, so why should he throw it back? Of course I kept it, five taels of silver was not a small amount, and I went back to reward my godson to make him happy.
Thinking about it, Shi Shiran put the silver into his arms.
