The Bingyin year imperial examination in October was set up by the emperor's decree. It was first announced to the world after the imperial meeting in March this year. The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory. In order to ensure that all the candidates in the world could catch up, it was set in the autumn and winter seasons.
By September, most people from the north and the south had arrived in the capital.
After Emperor Zhengde succeeded to the throne, the changes in the capital became even more dramatic. An academy and a hospital were built in the west city, and a city that never sleeps was built in the east city. Red lanterns were hung at the main entrance, and the eaves were spread all over, like a flying crane spreading its wings; , wooden houses combining bricks and wood gradually appeared.
Shops, teahouses, and restaurants became increasingly prosperous as there were more people with money to spend, and merchants gathered here. Even traveling theater troupes often liked to find an open space in the capital to sell their crafts.
Many people from all over the country who came to the capital for the first time were shocked to see such a prosperous city in the world.
Zhang Cong, the 30-year-old son of Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang Province, looked at this first city in the world in such a mood.
Most of the actions of the Zhejiang Guild Hall were the same as his.
Zhang Cong was sitting in the corner of the guild hall, listening to a few more well-dressed young people in the center of the guild hall talking loudly.
Next to him was an old man with gray hair, holding a book in his hand. No matter how busy the surrounding area was, it didn't seem to disturb him. Under his white beard, his lips kept moving slightly, as if he was reciting articles in the book.
This is already his third time going to Beijing for the exam, and he has seen people with gray hair fail, but there are very few people who are as serious as this.
"Nice to meet you."
Another young man at the same table was very enthusiastic and even talked to him.
Zhang Cong's qualifications are average and he is not from a prominent family, so he is a bit shy. He is not as cheerful and generous as the young man on his right. "The old man still studies in the busy city, and the younger generation is not as good as him."
It turned out that the old man didn't even listen to what he was saying.
This person was a little embarrassed, but he just smiled and raised his hands to Zhang Cong, "I'm Ge Dabao, I wonder what your surname is?"
"I am Zhang Cong, from Wenzhou Prefecture."
The old man still had no intention of participating in their conversation.
Ge Dabao chuckled lightly and said, "I heard that the imperial court's library garden has started construction. With sufficient silver and many manpower, the library garden will be completed within a year at most."
Put it this way,
The old man suddenly raised his head and asked, "It really only takes one year?"
"Your Majesty, please hurry up. It will take half a year."
One sentence erased half a year. When the old man heard that this was a nonsense, he didn't want to pay attention to it.
Ge Dabao was really not afraid of being disliked, so he turned to Zhang Cong and said: "The imperial examination only happens once every three years, but there was just one subject in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi. It should have waited until the third year of Zhengde, but it was advanced to the first year of Zhengde. Brother Zhang Do you know why?"
"Why?" Zhang Cong was also a little curious.
"It's because of Zhejiang."
When the imperial court opened the sea, the scholars in Zhejiang reacted most violently.
That time, it angered the court and the emperor, so I don't know how many people were dismissed from their honors.
The impact of that incident is still felt in Zhejiang.
Whether one has fame or not is a big difference for an individual and a family.
Some people had a bunch of acres of land in their names, only to have them all taken back overnight. This feeling of desolation in the world permeated the entire city of Hangzhou.
But the imperial court had many methods, and it was not afraid of offending Zhejiang. The emperor ordered Enke to be sent down, and in the first year of Zhengde, thousands of people gathered together. People in other provinces only felt that it was a God-given opportunity, and who cared about Zhejiang. Only people in Zhejiang are a little sad.
"His Majesty the Emperor decreed the establishment of a medical clinic, an academy, and a library garden. In terms of virtuous names throughout the ages, I, Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty, am as good as any of the ZTE emperors."
The old man who had been quiet all this time suddenly spoke, and glanced at Zhang Cong, saying: "I don't hear what is going on outside the window, and I only read the books of sages. Listening to other people's words is useless and boring."
Zhang Cong suddenly became a little wary.
At this time, the street suddenly became lively, several fast horses galloped in the capital, and the people along the street fled aside in panic.
Zhang Cong only felt that the sound was coming from far away, but he couldn't hear it clearly due to the crowd. He only saw people high-fiving and slapping their foreheads, which was quite exciting.
I didn’t hear it until I got closer,
"Good news for Datong! Good news for Datong!"
The old man next to Zhang Cong put down his book and ran to the railing on the second floor. He was as surprised as an old naughty boy, "There was a message from outside the sword that Ji Bei was collected. When I first heard about it, my clothes were filled with tears. But I saw where my wife was worried. She was filled with poems and books filled with joy and desire. Crazy. You have to indulge in drinking while singing during the day, so you can return home with your youth! The Ming Dynasty has won again!"
Zhang Cong also laughed and went forward to help the old man, because the old guy was shouting at the top of his lungs and his body was slightly unsteady. He was really going crazy.
"Du Fu, the poet sage, experienced the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and declined, but when I returned to the mausoleum to grow old, I experienced decline and became prosperous! I am so lucky! I am so happy to have such a grand event, how can I not sing about it with poetry?"
The spirit of a scholar is closely related to the quality of the world.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, most of the poems written by poets were magnificent, and they themselves had lofty aspirations, as was evident by Du Fu.
At the beginning, he wrote about his ambition, saying, "I will be at the top of the mountain, and I can see all the mountains and small mountains." When writing about war horses, he said, "There is no limit to where you go, and it is really worthy of life and death." If Xiaoteng is like this, he can travel thousands of miles! '.
It can be seen that a strong country and expanded territory can inspire the pride of the people, so even scholars are eager to go to battle to kill the enemy.
But what did Du Fu write after the Anshi Rebellion?
'The country is broken by mountains and rivers, and the city is full of spring vegetation. '
Inside the city, the vegetation has grown deep, and the dilapidation after the transition from prosperity to decline is shocking.
He wrote about his encounter with his old friend Li Guinian, saying, "It is a common sight in King Qi's house, but I heard it several times in front of Cui Jiutang."
Back then, he and Li Guinian were under King Qi's sect, and they were both prosperous for a while, but what about now? The prosperous Tang Dynasty was over, and there were no eggs left in the overturned nest. He himself wandered around, and Li Guinian also lived in the south of the Yangtze River.
The two old men got together, looking back on the past, and looking at the present, they really wanted to cry.
Even now, the Japanese wrote the book "Japanese Can Say No" in 1989, which was the pinnacle. Later, they were all abandoned houses.
Therefore, the emotions and self-confidence of the people are directly related to the strength of the country.
Now that the capital suddenly heard the good news thousands of miles away, the scholars naturally became excited.
However, young people are somewhat frivolous, and it is probably the old people who need to go through years of experience to better understand what is strong.
Zhang Cong looked at the old man as happy as a child,
He spreads his books and splashes ink,
When the heavy brush falls, it is a song:
China is separated and reunited several times, the mountains and rivers are back again, thousands of miles away, following the king's orders, millions of soldiers are killed!
This poem is too murderous.
Zhang Cong thought to himself, this is just an old man. If he were really a young man, he might have to give up his writing and join the army and take over the fifty states of Guanshan!
And here I am writing, but over there in the guild hall, there are still people reading Xin Qiji's poems, saying, "A man is determined to die!" Let’s try our hand at repairing the cracks in the sky! '
All crazy, all crazy.
…
Things were not much better in the palace.
It was the first time that Zhu Houzhao walked out of the Qianqing Palace in front of the memorial. The wind blew the corners of his dragon robe backwards. Behind him were a group of veterans. Some people with weak legs and feet had to support them and did not dare to stop for a step. Go to the emperor.
The group was in a hurry and made quite a noise.
When the emperor reached the marble steps, Ming soldiers in military uniforms knelt down with their legs bent and their hands raised above their heads.
Zhu Houzhao took the report, flipped it open, and quickly glanced at it a few times. Once confirmed, he could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart. He held the victory report in one hand and turned to face his ministers.
“The Ming Dynasty will last forever, the sun, moon, mountains and rivers will last forever!
"
