The flavor of the New Year in the Song Dynasty was too strong to be dissolved.
From the common people to the nobles, everyone devoted themselves to the festive carnival.
Officials and common people visited relatives and friends and exchanged congratulations. Men and women of the common people also wore bright new clothes and went back and forth to pay New Year greetings. Every family had a feast and laughed and made a noise.
Lin'an Prefecture is open to the public for three days. Gambling stalls are set up everywhere in all lanes and alleys, offering food, handicrafts, various goods, etc., attracting people to come and try their luck.
In the bustling markets, beautiful colorful booths were built, displaying crowns and combs, pearls and jade, hair and face, clothes, flowers, collars, boots, shoes, toys, etc. Dance halls and song pavilions were also set up to perform performances that the people loved to see.
Ladies, old and young, no matter rich or poor, came one after another, took out the private money in their embroidery bags, selected the items of their choice, and tried their luck. Some ladies gambled lavishly, even more wantonly than the men.
Most of the gambling methods are very simple. One of the most popular is tossing copper coins. Throw a few coins into a jar or on the ground. Win or lose is determined based on the heads and tails of the money. The winner can exchange money or take it away for free. Some of the items saved have odds as high as thirty times.
Taoist temples were crowded with believers praying and burning incense, and the royal gardens were also open to the public, with throngs of visitors all night long.
In the streets, there are also teams of mobile singing and dancing performances. Beautiful young ladies, riding on their shoulders or in cars, play and play, sing and dance.
The brothels and restaurants were full of guests, drinking and watching songs and dances. When the mood arose, it was indispensable to recite poems and write lyrics.
From the first day of the Lunar New Year, this lively and prosperous scene gets better and better day by day, until the Lantern Festival on the 15th New Year's Eve reaches its peak.
Although the imperial court only had a five-day holiday, even when they went to work, most of the officials were not interested in official matters and did not officially enter office until after the Lantern Festival.
On the 21st, the imperial court announced a lot of decrees, the first of which was personnel adjustments.
Among them, some of the more attention-grabbing ones are that Yang Dong was the editor of Jiying Palace, a scholar in Zhongshu, and a lecturer, and he served as the transfer envoy between Guangdong and Guangxi and knew Qinzhou.
Feng Mengqi went to Zhilong Tuge and served as the Guangdong Economic Strategy and Comfort Envoy and also knew Guangzhou.
Mou Zicai entered Baozhang Pavilion to wait for the establishment, and was promoted to the Changping Division of Guangxi Province and also knew the two states of Lei and Qiong.
Ma Tianji, the former pacifier of Guangdong, was moved to serve as minister of the Ministry of Rites, and he also served as a direct scholar at the academy, served as a student, and served as a minister of the Imperial Academy.
Zhao Yumin was promoted to the Changping Division in western Zhejiang and also the governor of Lin'an Prefecture.
Chen Dafang, the editor of the Academy of National History and the reviewer of the Academy of Records, was newly eliminated as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Minister of the Book of Quan Zhongshu.
Looking at this guy's long official name, you know that he is the biggest winner of this personnel adjustment.
The scope of the adjustment was very wide, and many people were involved. However, the "generals" of King Yan's line were appointed abroad one after another, which aroused a lot of speculation among the ministers.
Is King Yan about to lose power?
Just as this idea arose, I heard the court announced the establishment of two new temporary government offices, the Statistics Department and the Integrity Department.
Jiang Wanli moved to Zizhengdian to become a bachelor, and served as Yushi Zhongcheng and concurrently judged the Statistics Department.
The Statistics Department is currently mainly responsible for the clearing of the economic circle. More than 600 Tai students who were previously involved in the economic circle were awarded the same background as Jinshi due to their merit. They were replaced by Di Gonglang, who was from the ninth grade, and joined the Statistics Department as a deacon.
As soon as it was announced, it caused an uproar.
In the Song Dynasty, honors were divided into three grades: the first grade was called a Jinshi, the second grade was a Jinshi origin, and the third grade was a Jinshi origin. The imperial examinations held every three years only selected three or four hundred people. This time, six hundred people were awarded. So many, it’s really incredible.
However, the reasons given by the imperial court were very good. After the two prefectures of Pingjiang and Jiaxing passed through the border, the tax and grain could be increased by more than one million gu each year. The total annual salary of more than 600 Di Gonglang was only about 100,000 gu, which is still very worthwhile. Besides After the Statistics Department continues to pass through the border, the imperial tax revenue will also increase significantly.
Moreover, Taixue was originally the highest institution for the imperial court to train officials. After regular assessments, the best students would be awarded titles and titles, but the number was limited.
This time there were more than 600 people, which was dozens of times more than usual. However, both the prime minister and the officials had made the decision, and it was useless even if the middle and low-level officials had any opinions.
Judging from this move, the imperial court will definitely implement the Jingjie to the end in the future. For different places, it is a matter of sooner or later.
Therefore, many officials were anxious and thinking about it one by one.
In addition, Hong Tianxi was promoted to Shi Yushi and took charge of the Integrity Department.
Both departments belong to the Yushitai, and the Yushitai already has the power to supervise the administration of officials. The Integrity Department is just more professional, with the power to inspect the account books of any department and specialize in dealing with the economic problems of officials.
On the surface, it seems that this was due to the reflection caused by the corruption cases in the Salesian Bureau and the nursing home, and the court took this countermeasure to strengthen the administration of officials.
But if you think about it carefully, the person who actually holds this power is probably King Yan who is hiding behind the scenes. This makes many people shudder and worry.
Some people can't help but think of resigning.
Finally, there was an edict that the new Zongxue was renamed the Royal Military Academy, the original martial arts was merged into the Royal Military Academy, and the newly enfeoffed Donghai Hou Qiuyue served as the chief priest.
At this time, many people have no intention of paying attention to the inner meaning of this matter.
After the court meeting, the air in Lin'an City seemed to have become much more solemn.
Two days later, Jiang Wanli took the personnel of the Statistics Department to Anji Prefecture and Changzhou, planning to complete the border between the two places in one year.
As for the Department of Integrity, other than putting up a sign, there was not much movement.
On the 25th, many officials were working in the government office as usual, and then the palace guards suddenly came with an edict and took the officials away without any explanation.
The officials who had been on tenterhooks for several days were immediately frightened, and some even fainted.
After a while, someone realized that these officials may have nothing to do with the Department of Integrity. They should have been selected as provincial examination examiners and sent to Gongyuan.
In order to prevent fraud in the imperial examination, the imperial court would not disclose the candidates for the examination in advance. When the time came, they would directly take the examiners away, and the examiners would not be allowed to communicate with others. It did look a bit like they had committed a crime and were being taken away.
After thinking about it, the officials discovered that they were scaring themselves...
After the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites officially started, it diverted the attention of the officials. Later, they found that the Department of Integrity still had no action, and then they slowly felt relieved.
After the hospital was locked down, the examiners spent four or five days coming up with the test questions. On the first day of February, everyone came in and the examination officially began.
In the first, second, and third grades, there are exams for poems and poems, and in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grade, there are exams for classics and righteous people. Later, there are exams for officials in the locked hall, and the eldest son is exam for the clan's children. The whole examination takes more than ten days.
Grading will take another ten days, and the results will not be released until the end of February.
There were a particularly large number of people admitted to the provincial examination this time, more than 600 people.
To Zhao Mengqi's relief, all five Wujiang scholars from Lu Shangming were on the list.
According to the tradition of the Song Dynasty, the more than 600 people who passed the provincial examination were already in possession of fame. The next palace examination basically no longer dismissed candidates, but only ranked them.
After waiting for almost another month, on the third day of April, the palace examination began.
Before Mao hour on that day, the people would rush to He Ning Gate to wait.
Wait for the door to open and enter according to the order. The guard will collect the number plate and conduct inspection.
This inspection is mainly to prevent people from bringing weapons in, cheating or other things, but it does not exist. It has already been done, so there is no need to take risks.
Under the guidance of relevant personnel, they came to the outside of Chongzheng Hall... No, the sign hanging today is Jiying Hall.
After all the officials had finished paying their respects, everyone went inside to pay homage to Zhao Guan's house, and then found seats according to their numbers and sat down.
There is a three-foot-long piece of white paper affixed to the desk at each seat, with information such as a person's place of origin and other information written on it. You cannot sit in the wrong seat or move around.
About six hundred people filled the small Jiying Hall to a full capacity. Zhao Guanjia, who was sitting on the throne, looked down and could not help but have the illusion that the talents under his rule were at their peak...
At the beginning of Chen time, that is, at seven o'clock, Dong Huai submitted the prepared test questions to Zhao Guan's family for inspection. After Zhao Guan's family selected them, they handed them over to the Zhongguan to announce to the candidates.
Candidates want
Copy the test questions on straw paper, then put it in a yellow gauze bag and hang it under your neck. You have to be careful not to deface it, otherwise it will be disrespectful. The paper will not be collected when you hand it in, which means you have failed the test and will be dismissed. Can't blame others.
After handing out the test questions, Zhao Guan's family would not stay here watching the candidates in a daze, and then drove back to the inner palace.
Most of the candidates had not eaten breakfast and were inevitably hungry at this time, so Zhao Guan's family would give them food, including a "Tai Xue steamed bun" and a bowl of mutton rice.
After eating and thanking each other, the exam began. At this time, there were examiners everywhere, and the governors such as Dong Huai and Cheng Yuanfeng also had to patrol constantly. The pressure on the candidates was still very high, and those with weak psychological quality would inevitably perform abnormally.
There was only one day for the palace examination. At Shen Shi, which was five o'clock, Zhao Guan's family came to Jiying Palace again and began to collect papers.
If someone fails to finish writing, candles will be given to extend the time appropriately, but the ranking will most likely be lowered.
Candidates who have handed in their papers can leave the palace on their own without waiting for everyone to gather, and no one is escorting them. They just need to register their names every time they go out.
The collected examination papers had to be re-transcribed by a dedicated person, and they also had to go through procedures such as preliminary examination, re-examination, arrangement, and detailed determination. The grading and ranking took ten days.
The detailed officials were Chen Dafang, Lin Cun, and Rao Huchen, and the organizers were Gao Hengsun and Pi Longrong. They brought the papers and the list and submitted them to Zhao Guan's family for inspection.
Zhao Guanjia looked through the test papers and felt that the seventh volume, which had more than 10,000 words written eloquently, was to his liking. He planned to change it to the top of the list, so he asked the officials for their opinions.
Wang Yinglin, the examiner who reviewed the examination, immediately said, "This is a scroll of ancient friendship like a tortoise mirror, and a loyal liver like iron stone. I dare to congratulate you on your achievement."
Zhao Guanjia immediately made a decision and selected this volume as the number one scholar. When he opened the seal, he saw that it was Luling Wen Tianxiang.
After seeing this name, Zhao Guan's family was even more happy, "This is the auspiciousness of heaven, Song Zhirui! What a good sign!"
All the officials joined in to congratulate him.
In the end, a total of 605 people were admitted to this subject, four more than the original number.
Thanks to Fangde, Lu Xiufu was on the list without any surprise, and Wen Tianxiang's younger brother Wen Bi changed his fate of failing the list and did not have to wait for the next subject to take the exam again.
Among these people, 420 were from civilians without official status within three generations, and half of the children of officials came from low-ranking official families. From this, it can be seen that the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty were still very fair.
After the roll call, there was a grand celebration as usual, with the number one white horse parading through the streets, receiving cheers from thousands of Lin'an people, and then there was the Qionglin Banquet and so on.
After the glory is over, it's time to wait for the candidates. At this time, some people are happy and some are sad. Except for the dozens of people in the first and second grades, others often have to wait for a long time and may not be selected.
There is no way, who allowed too many Jinshi to be admitted.
However, there were changes in this subject. Before long, more than 200 new scholars received official positions as intern deacons in the Integrity Department of Yushitai.
And the official document informed them that they need to go to the Royal Military Academy for three months of pre-job training before taking office.
As soon as the news came out, the officials who had calmed down were shocked, as if they saw King Yan showing his fangs.
