You Zhi returned to the palace and resumed his life, briefly describing what Ma Rong said in the academy.
Zhu Houzhao was wearing a big cloak and said as he walked: "With such a calm spirit at the age of twenty, it is no wonder that he can also make decisions calmly on the battlefield. Let's find an opportunity to announce him to the palace and let me meet him. .”
"Yes, I obey your order."
But I don’t have time lately,
The examination results and the emperor's wedding were approaching, and Zhu Houzhao was busier than he thought.
The cabinet and ministers kept sending notes to the palace.
Apart from anything else, at least the title of No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 overall winner is guaranteed.
In the Palace of Qianqing, Zhu Houzhao practiced some calmness, opened his eyes and read a few very obscure answer sheets, and glanced at his ministers during the interval.
"My dear friends, do you have anything to say?"
"Wei Chen, I have something to report." Gu Zuo lowered his eyebrows and spoke as confidently as ever.
"explain."
"Among the dozens of answers today, there is a son from Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang, whose surname is Zhang Mingcong. There are some differences between the minister and the eldest uncle. The eldest uncle thinks that this person is full of flattery in his words and has a close attitude in his lines. It's really It is not suitable for him to be an official. The ministers thought that this official had profound insights into the imperial policy and the truth he said hit the mark. It can be seen that even though he is far away from the world, he must ponder the imperial policy every day. Looking at his answers, it is also clear that he is not suitable for being an official. Why can’t people who follow the teachings of Confucius and Mencius and understand the etiquette of rulers and ministers be given official posts?”
"Zhang Cong?"
Zhu Houzhao looked reminiscing, and the name always sounded familiar to him.
At the same time, Lin Han said: "Your Majesty, this person has an impure heart and will definitely be a treacherous minister in the future."
oh,
Zhu Houzhao remembered.
Speaking of Zhang Cong, wasn't he the one who supported Emperor Jiajing and Yang Tinghe in the Dali Conference incident?
However, Zhang Cong really appeared on the historical stage only during the Jiajing period, and now it is only the first year of Zhengde...
"When was he born?"
Gu Zuo replied: "The eleventh year of Chenghua."
Zhu Houzhao frowned. He was in the eleventh year of Chenghua... isn't he in his early thirties?
According to historical trends, Zhengde was also sixteen years old, so this guy would have been fifty during the Jiajing period.
Is he alone... Zhang Cong became the chief minister, and he only came to the fore during the Jiajing period, but how could there be a person who only emerged from the officialdom at fifty and then jumped up all at once?
At least something unusual.
However, Zhang Cong during the Jiajing period was indeed a speculator. He was keenly aware of the contradiction between Yang Tinghe and the new emperor, and chose to be the first to jump out to rebel against the civil servants and support the emperor, thus gaining the trust and importance of Jiajing. .
But there is a saying, speculation is speculation,
Zhang Cong later did some things when he became the chief minister. History books record that he was ruthless, seeking revenge, and did not protect good people.
This person is quite ruthless, especially "hating dirty officials". He advocates recommending "those who are honest and able to love the people" and even believes that honest and honest officials should be promoted without qualification restrictions.
Moreover, during the Jiajing period, the problems of the imperial village and the land of the kings, relatives, and middle-level officials had become very serious, especially in the capital area, where basically all the good land was occupied by the powerful.
Emperor Jiajing's pot was a non-stick pan. Some people asked him to do it, and he agreed, but he didn't want to be a bad guy if he couldn't do it, so the two attempts to clean up the farmland ended in failure.
Until Zhang Cong came to power, he was like a cold-faced King of Hell, with four words: resolutely clean up.
Moreover, the scope of cleanup was expanded from Gyeonggi Province to various provinces.
Because Zhang Cong's methods were hard and ruthless, he could not help but appear domineering. In addition, he offended many people, which made him unstable as the first assistant, causing three ups and downs.
During the Jiajing Dynasty for more than 40 years, he was enlightened in the early period and mediocre in the later period... This early enlightenment has something to do with Zhang Cong.
However, Zhu Houzhao did not remember more accurate information about Zhang Cong, even if he had one more place of origin.
He could also tell whether the Zhang Cong from Wenzhou Prefecture was the one in his memory.
But this kind of thing,
He would rather do something wrong than do nothing.
If you stay and talk about it, that's good. If you don't pull him down, what's the point of losing?
When his thoughts slowly came back, Zhu Houzhao saw that Li Dongyang and Xie Qian had also joined the debate. They also thought that Zhang Cong's answer was just flattery, and he didn't have much literary talent to speak of.
But Gu Zuo still insisted on being practical.
It's not like he has no literary talent at all, otherwise how could he pass the exam in a place like Zhejiang where there are outstanding people?
"I have listened to the opinions of all my dear friends." Zhu Houzhao said slowly: "I think this person's articles are indeed average, but some of his opinions are true. From what I see, it is better to give him an average ranking, that is, ”
There is a huge difference between an ordinary ranking and a first-class ranking.
This can be considered a compromise.
"The ordinary ranking your Majesty mentioned is the top three?"
Zhu Houzhao was a little helpless. This Lin Shangshu was really a jerk, so his answer was not as he expected, "Let's give him a second-class rank."
As for the top three people in the first class.
Finally, they were named Zhou Le, Jing Yang and Yan Wenqi.
Zhou Le was from Guizhou, and there were very few champions in these provinces in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Houzhao pointed him out. In addition to his basic writing skills, he also had a remote background.
Most of the scholars who ranked higher were from Susong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang. After finally finding a person from Guizhou, Zhu Houzhao simply let his influence be greater.
One thought of the people in the Qianqing Palace was the fate of the son outside the palace, and even the fate of his family.
As the old saying goes, it's the night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber and the time when the gold medal is named.
It’s time for excitement in the capital city again.
And the emperor also suddenly had an idea. He took advantage of the wedding of Yongshou Palace to invite Mei Huaigu into the palace. On the one hand, of course, he wanted to tell him that Huaixiao and Huaiyan were both pregnant.
On the other hand, there are other thoughts.
That's Yuezhuang.
"Now that it's built, when will you invite me to take a look?"
Zhu Houzhao's heart has actually been itching for a long time. Recently, people have been whispering in his ears about the changes in the capital.
But to him, all this was in the memorial and never fell into his eyes.
So of course he wanted to take a look.
But Mei Huaigu was a little hesitant when he first heard about it. The last time the emperor left the palace, he encountered some "little" unpleasantness, causing a few people to lose their lives...
This time I am leaving the palace again.
The emperor was a little unhappy when he saw his hesitation, "What? You also learned from those old Confucian ministers?"
"Of course not, Wei Chen doesn't dare." Mei Huaigu immediately corrected, "Wei Chen is just thinking that Yuezhuang has six floors and is more than ten feet high. Although I am confident, after all, it involves His Majesty's body of thousands of gold. If anything happens, What a flaw, I am afraid that I will die a hundred times without redemption."
"I'm visiting incognito, and I won't stay there for a long time. Just don't worry."
Then the emperor called Zhang Yong over again.
Zhang Yong is now in charge of the Shenwu Guard. He has been selecting candidates for several months. More than 1,900 people have been selected. The commander of the Shenwu Guard is Xu Guan, who is tall and powerful and a brave general.
When Zhu Houzhao leaves the palace now, he will use them as his bodyguards.
Surrounding him were seven or eight people, including Xu Guan. In addition, there were ten teams, composed of ten people in each team, deployed around to prevent emergencies.
Regarding this point, Zhu Houzhao is still very honest.
After all, this is his own life, and he has killed many people in the past few years. What if some of them want to die together.
Furthermore, what the ministers said, "His Majesty is bound by the country and the country," is also true, so he cannot be willful without any defense force.
Early the next morning, the emperor habitually excused himself from court.
The minister also habitually handed the note to the attendant's room.
Zhu Houzhao himself had already walked out of the palace in a blue shirt. He had a jade belt tied around his waist and embroidered pedals on his feet. His black hair was washed and spread softly behind him. He looked quite spiritual.
Xu Guan and Zhang Yong lined up behind him.
They also all wore plain casual clothes.
Not long after the group left the palace gate, they came to the city that never sleeps.
Zhu Houzhao stood tall and straight, looking up at this series of relatively towering buildings with his hands behind his back.
The three golden words "City That Never Sleeps" have been written on the plaque and hung up.
There were already people inside and outside the gate.
Even they were still shouting at others, saying: "Guys, there are several cars behind, waiting to transport things. I wonder if there is anything? If not, can you give way?"
"Oh." Zhu Houzhao did bring nearly ten people with him. He said and stepped back to the side.
If you look carefully, the young man talking to them should be from Jinyiwei, otherwise ordinary people would not dare to come over and say such things that would block their way.
In fact, the groom driving the carriage behind him waited for a while and tried his best to avoid looking when he passed by.
"Sir, do you want to go in?" Zhang Yong asked.
"No, the store will open soon, so there's no rush right now. Let's go to Yuezhuang."
Coming out of Zhengyang Gate, the atmosphere on the street is obviously lively. Most of the people here are ordinary people, but compared to the last time I came here, there are many fewer dwellings built with just a few wooden boards.
Although it is still crowded, at least it is arranged in an orderly manner.
Yuezhuang should be further south, because it is high and cannot be too close to the imperial city, and it is more open, but it will not be deserted.
It will be even less deserted today, because the imperial list will be posted today, so who will be thinking about sleeping?
Amidst the excitement of the crowd, Zhu Hou climbed up to the sixth floor of Yuezhuang under his protection. The upper floor was divided into two rooms by Duzhu, but when he walked inside, he found that they were actually connected.
The west side is for the reception area, and the main seat is a soft chair with eight square cushions on the sides. Before the cushions, there is a brown wooden table.
To the east is the sleeping area. The bed is huge and can sleep about six or seven people. In addition to the bed, there is a desk. On the wall behind the desk is a picture of a thousand-mile landscape, which has an ancient charm.
Zhu Houzhao walked around and looked around, "Nostalgia for the past."
"I'm here."
"Don't call yourself a minister outside. Also, how do you price this place for one night?"
Mei Huaigu laughed and said, "This is the highest place in the capital, and His Majesty the Ming Dynasty is the highest, so we can't collect money here."
"Then all the hard work you have put into setting it up, wouldn't it be wasted if you put it here?"
"It doesn't cost much. Your Majesty's visit this time is worth the money I spent."
"You have such a mouth. Okay, then come and sit down and try it out."
Zhu Houzhao greeted everyone and asked everyone to sit down on the sofa in the living room. He took the main seat, and Zhang Yong was waiting beside him.
And on the other side,
On the second floor of Yuezhuang, people slowly gathered on the side facing the street.
Everyone knew what was going to happen today, so there was no excitement as usual. Instead, they all sat down, either drinking tea or chatting in low voices.
Until a certain moment, a crisp gong sound penetrated the space.
"Good news! The master of Huzhou Yao Mansion, Yao Taoqing, ranked 30th in the second class and was awarded a Jinshi status!!"
…
Zhang Cong did not go to the east courtyard to see the gold medal list today.
He has failed the imperial examination three times in a row.
I went there the first two times, but then I found it boring. Why go? He sees others happy, but others see him laughing?
So this time he honestly went to Nancheng to see the private school built by the imperial court.
Next to him was the old man he had met twice.
The old man's surname is Qu and his given name is Sanjie. He is from Ningbo Prefecture.
The old man and the young man found it interesting walking among these newly built squares.
The old man pointed to a small bridge in front of him on the left. Next to the bridge was a small vegetable garden facing the river. In the garden, a woman was hoeing, and next to her was a child with a yellow mouth sitting on a stone roller and reading.
"The country is peaceful and the people are safe, that's how it is."
Zhang Cong was also a little touched, "After taking office today, there have been many new policies in the court. Although they only treat the symptoms and not the root cause, countless lives can be saved by just treating the symptoms."
"It is better for you and me to discuss government affairs less often."
Seeing that Zhang Cong was a little dissatisfied, the old man said: "When people are young, they always think things in the world are simple. When they get older, they realize that things in the world are complicated... Treating the root cause? Easier said than done."
"Why don't you do something that is not easy? The imperial examination is even more difficult. Didn't Qu Lao do it all his life?"
The old man couldn't fight, so he slowly walked to a private school.
"Red walls and black tiles, it's like walking on flat ground."
...While he was talking, a figure ran towards him from a distance,
Zhang Cong took a closer look, wasn't that the Ge Dabao he knew before?
"Brother Zhang! Brother Zhang!"
Ge Dabao ran so fast that he could barely breathe.
Zhang Cong's heart moved, and Mr. Qu seemed to have thought of something.
"It seems that Zhang Xiaoyou is happy today."
Gudong.
Zhang Cong swallowed silently and stepped forward to meet him.
"Brother Ge, you...what do you have to say?"
"Huh...huh..." Ge Dabao pressed his knees with both hands, breathing heavily, "I can't find you everywhere... I can't find you anywhere. So you are here. Brother Zhang, you are hit!"
"I've been hit?!" Zhang Cong suddenly couldn't control himself, and all the blood in his body was rushing to his head. He didn't know what to do for a moment, and he stuttered when he spoke, "Brother Ge, you are right... Hit means...to enter,"
"Jinshi! Number seventy-eighth in the top two!"
"really?!"
“Absolutely true!!”
For a moment, Zhang Cong felt like his whole body was thrown into the sky, and then fell rapidly.
Then he calmed down a little, and then pointed at Ge Dabao, "Brother Ge, what about you?"
"I'm not as good as Brother Zhang, but I'm still in the top three, and I'm very satisfied with the title of Jinshi."
"Hahaha!"
The two of them looked at each other and smiled. The joy of being named on the gold list is really the greatest joy in life.
Fortunately, Zhang Cong has not forgotten Qu Lao. He turned around and ran to the old man again.
The old man's eyes when he looked at him were actually a little confused and a little sad. How much he wanted to go back to his youth. Although he never passed the Jinshi exam, he did the same thing when he was admitted to the imperial examination.
Seeing Zhang Cong approaching him, he quickly came to his senses and said, "I want it, I want it for Mr. Zhang..."
Zhang Cong reached out and pressed the old man's arm, "Old Qu reminded me several times, and I felt suddenly enlightened. Old Qu is a kind person to me, so there is no need to be polite."
"With a little effort, I hope you won't be blamed or blamed. I'm here to wish Mr. Zhang a successful career in the future."
Zhang Cong clenched his fist and said, "Thank you, Mr. Qu! I have determined to assist the monarch and help the world. Only in this way can I have no regrets in this life!"
(End of chapter)
