The exams at the Husbandry Academy are still being held. Although there are not many people who can be spectators, the excitement there quickly spreads around the capital.
After all, the folk customs are martial and strong, and it is just a martial arts competition. Even Yang Ming himself has been watching.
But Yang Ming will not go to watch, because the final outstanding players will enter the palace and be assessed by him personally.
On this day, the first character to win all ten battles appeared, Cheng Yaojin.
Originally, he had gone back with Zhang Xutuo, but the imperial examinations had started again, and he was told by the superiors that people could be recommended regardless of their origins. Zhang Xutuo had the power to cover Shandong at least, so he still had this ability. So he recommended three at once, Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji, and Cheng Yaojin.
Among them, Shan Xiongxin, from a humble family, is a descendant of Shan Kuang, the prefect of Jiyin in the Eastern Han Dynasty. How many years have passed since the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, and his family is still a big family in the local area. In the Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this boy is the leader of the green forest in the nine provinces. But now, when Zhang Xutuo was pacifying Shandong, he spent money to recruit a group of bandits to help suppress the rebellion, and was appreciated by Zhang Xutuo. He was young, twenty-seven years old.
Xu Shiji came from a poor family. He was born in the Xu family of Shangfang, the ancestor of Gaoping. He was not a Taoist. His family was from the same county as Shan Xiongxin and was more powerful than Shan Xiongxin. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, his ancestors were all high officials. He is nineteen years old this year and is also a gangster. Zhang Xutuo was given the opportunity to be promoted after suppressing the rebellion.
Cheng Yaojin should not mention that his father was an official in the Sui Dynasty, or that his ancestors, the general manager of Jeju, had been officials for generations. His father-in-law was also a county magistrate, so he could be considered a poor family. After all, their ancestors served the Northern Qi Dynasty.
In ancient times, the term "poor family" specifically refers to families with lower status and influence. In later generations, this term refers to people who were born in poverty.
But the poor families in ancient times were not poor at all. They were just the landlord class with weakened political power.
Cheng Yaojin also had a friend in the capital, Zhang Yuanbei, the son of Zhang Xutuo. Zhang Yuanbei was currently the prince Qianniubishen and happened to be with Yang Rui, so he introduced Cheng Yaojin to Yang Rui.
Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji came together with Cheng Yaojin, and under the recommendation of Zhang Yuanbei, they also had the opportunity to meet the current King of Qin.
Yang Rui simply settled them all in Jinyang Building, taking care of the food and drinks. Of course, when Yang Rui went to the school grounds during these days, he would invite Wei Gui to go with him, and the friendship between the two also quickly warmed up.
This was the case in the Sui Dynasty. When girls look at boys, they don't look at their appearance, but only their family background. You can't say they are philistines. This is the custom. Even though they are well-matched, they have lasted for thousands of years, and this is still the case in later generations.
Civil servants will not look at people selling vegetables in the wet market.
If Wei Gui only met Li Shimin, he would think it would be great to marry such a person. But if Yang Rui is placed next to Li Shimin, Li Shimin will be out of date in an instant.
Because of Wei Gui's relationship, a group of juniors from the Wei family also joined Yang Rui's cavalcade, following Yang Rui all day long as they paraded through the streets.
Naturally, Yang Ming and his wife, who were in the East Palace, also heard about it.
"The people of the Wei family really don't want to be licked in the face. I asked about that girl. She is already fifteen years old this year and she has the nerve to cling to our heir apparent," Yang Yuanqing complained in the East Palace.
Yang Xuanting snorted coldly: "That Wei Yunqi even came to me and said that King Qin was interested in that girl. Damn it, the prince would fall in love with an old girl?"
"You two, don't talk nonsense," Yang Yinjiang frowned and said, "She is fifteen years old, how can she be considered an old girl?"
When she was sixteen, she met the twelve-year-old Yang Ming. Isn't she older?
Yang Xuanting reacted immediately and said quickly: "What I mean is that she is six years older than the prince. The age difference is too big. When the prince comes of age, won't she be an old girl?"
Yang Ming was sitting behind the desk, handling government affairs with Yuan Wendu and others. Hearing this, he raised his head and said, "What Wei Yunqi means is that Ying Hui took the initiative to fall in love with the Wei family girl?"
"I think he is putting money on his face, how is that possible?" Yang Xuanting said unhappily.
Liu Hongji smiled and said: "But that's the fact. Yu Wenlan is keeping a close eye on her. It is indeed our prince who takes the initiative to invite people every day."
Yang Ming couldn't help but laugh and said, "Are those few people from Shandong Province currently with the Crown Prince?"
Liu Hongji nodded and said: "Both the food and lodging have been taken care of by the prince, and they are all settled in Jinyang Tower. These three people have an old relationship with Yuan Bei, and it was Yuan Bei who introduced them to the prince."
Yang Ming nodded: "Tell the prince to take more care of that person named Xu, and don't let Li Erlang be abducted again."
Feng Deyi on the side smiled and said: "I was also there that day. That Yuchi Jingde is indeed a rare warrior, no worse than the ten-win Cheng Yaojin. It's a pity that he couldn't enter the palace examination, but the one named Xu Shiji seems to be average. Your Highness Why do you love this person alone?"
Yang Ming said casually: "Zhang Xutuo said hello."
"I see," Feng Deyi nodded: "What if he doesn't get the first grade? The school assessment is in full view of everyone, so it's not easy to arrange the palace examination."
"It doesn't matter. As long as the prince loves him, it doesn't matter if he doesn't take the imperial examination?" Li Baiyao said.
Yang Yinjiang was not very interested in these things. She was only interested in her son, so she brought the topic back and looked at Yang Ming and said, "What about that Webster? Just watch him stick to Ying Hui's side?"
Yang Xuanting and Yang Yuanqing looked at each other expectantly. They also hoped that Yang Ming would object, because the old Yang family had been competing with the Wei family for the most powerful family in the world for so many years, and they did not want to see the other party gain momentum.
Yang Ming said calmly: "If it is really Ying Hui who likes him, let him go and there is no need to stop him."
Yang Yinjiang sighed and nodded.
When Changsun Wuji came back, he immediately went to Yang Rui to report for duty, while Gao and Changsun Wuji entered the palace to thank Yang Yinjiang for coming.
Because it was Yang Rui who was helping behind the scenes, and the princess was his own mother. As a female, the Gao family must have gone to thank her mother.
Another point is that before Chang Sun Sheng died, he entrusted his children to Yang Ming, otherwise Chang Sun Xingbu would not be able to enter the East Palace, and Chang Sun Sheng would be Yang Ming's.
But Yang Yinjiang didn't like Mrs. Gao very much. Firstly, this woman felt very unnatural every time she saw her husband. Furthermore, her husband even had the idea of marrying Mr. Gao's daughter to Yang Rui back then, and Yang Yinjiang Jiang felt that the other party was not worthy of her son.
It was the same today. Yang Yinjiang looked at Gao's squirming appearance and felt angry in her heart. They were both women, so she could naturally tell that this woman had such intentions for her husband.
Damn it, how dare you, a widow, even think about this?
"Wuji is the prince's companion, and the prince's help in secret is just a little effort. There is no need to go to the palace to express gratitude," Yang Yinjiang said lightly.
Yang Ming's attention was focused on his eldest grandson Wugou. This girl would be twelve years old this year. If she didn't get married naturally before she turned sixteen, Yang Ming would consider taking her into his pocket.
He is still too young now, so he is a good match for his son, but Yang Rui also has some problems with his view on love. He fell in love with someone six years older, and he fell in love with him when he was nine years old.
When I was nine years old, I never had any thoughts about women. Isn't it too precocious?
"Now that Wuji has returned to the family, do you plan to move back in?" Yang Ming asked.
Mr. Gao lowered his head and said, "We didn't have this plan, and Xingbu and the others were not willing. Instead, they gave me a sum of money and let us settle on our own. I have made an agreement with my brother to live in their house from now on."
Gao Shilian has returned from Bashu. He followed Liu Su, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to build temples in Bashu and get money.
There was a report from Bashu that Liu Su and Gao Shilian made a lot of money relying on the errands given to them by Yang Ming, but it didn't matter, Yang Ming's method was not very glorious to begin with.
It's normal to be greedy for money. There is no official who is not greedy. As long as you complete the errands assigned to you by the court and take advantage of the opportunity to line your own pockets, it doesn't matter.
I am not afraid that you are greedy, but I am afraid that you are not greedy.
After saying a few words, Mrs. Gao took her daughter away. Yang Yinjiang sneered as she looked at the other person's leaving figure and said to Yang Ming:
"This woman is not chaste. No wonder she was kicked out by Changsun Xingbu and the others."
Yang Ming frowned and said, "How do you know that someone is not chaste?"
"I didn't want to say it before, but today she is still like this. I really can't help it," Yang Yinjiang said: "Can't you see that she is very different when she is in front of you? She is so young. Now, who are you showing shame to?"
Yang Ming couldn't help but laugh and said: "It's not that people fall in love with me, it's that they think I fall in love with her, that's why I behave like this."
Yang Yinjiang was stunned and said, "What did you do to her?"
Yang Ming explained: "When I returned to Beijing from Luoyang, I invited her to accompany me. During this period, I took good care of Wuji and Wujia. We met so many times that she misunderstood them."
"So that's it," Yang Yinjiang said suddenly, "Anyway, I know that if she looks like this, either there's something wrong with her or there's something wrong with you."
Yang Ming soaked his feet and said calmly: "This eldest grandson is not up to the mark. Ying Hui obviously protected Wuji, but he still refused to let Wuji and others return to live in his hometown. This kind of funeral ceremony of the Xianbei people is not in line with the Central Plains system. Indeed It should be changed. If we want to integrate, we should integrate it thoroughly. What does it look like now if it is neither fish nor fowl?"
Yang Yinjiang also has Xianbei blood, but like Yang Ming, his father's line is Han, so all etiquette follows Han traditions, while Changsun Wuji's father's line is Xianbei, so it is not that easy to change.
"It's not the right time now, and in one or two generations, it will be almost the same," Yang Yinjiang said.
This is true. With the continuous marriages between clans, the Xianbei people will definitely need to accommodate the Han people. That is to say, if the Gao family cannot do it, if it is replaced by Jingzhao Wei Hongnong and Yang, the eldest grandson family may not dare to do this.
The father's line is from the Xianbei family. If you stick to this tradition for a long time, you can't expect to marry frequently with the powerful lords of the Central Plains. If you can't even enter the main tomb, why marry you?
If you continue to marry her, she will also be your first wife.
"I intend to ask Wei Zheng to go to Shangshu Province. You say hello to Xuangan. There is a vacancy in the Ministry of Etiquette, so keep it," Yang Ming said while wiping his feet.
Yang Yinjiang frowned and said, "Why Wei Zheng?"
"I'll tell you later," Yang Ming smiled.
Wei Zheng was quite idle in the East Palace and had no real power. Yang Ming arranged for the other party to enter the Shangshu Province in advance, which was to give him power and let him know how to make mistakes in advance. From now on, he would rely on Wei Zheng to fight against Yang Guang.
Of course, Yang Guang's end should be quite miserable. (End of chapter)
