The Battle of Tibet.
The question of the palace examination: The Tibetans on the Western Front were harassing and invading the frontiers repeatedly. How should the imperial court fight back against the Tibetans and restore the majesty of the Tang Dynasty?
…
Under the attention of many court officials, a group of Jinshi took up their pens and offered advice on many aspects of diplomacy, military strategy, strategy, logistics, and military morale on border affairs and imperial conquests.
For a moment, there was only the sound of writing in the entire hall.
The Imperial Examination is a major event for the imperial court. Many people have been preparing for the Imperial Examination for several years but may not be able to reach the Hanyuan Palace. Now that they have reached this final level, they are naturally very attentive.
Li Xuanhong, the young minister of Lu Temple, would like to stand behind the ministers.
Ahead, all the prime ministers of the three provinces under Zhongshu's sect, Shangshu, were there.
The six ministers and the supervisors of the nine temples also stood behind.
The Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, Honglu Temple, and other relevant officials are all good.
At two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, until the end of Shenshi and the beginning of Youshi, the bells and chimes sounded, and all the Jinshi in the hall stopped writing.
Although some people are upset, they can't write another word.
"The time has come for all sentient beings to withdraw."
Li Xuan walked to the front of the main hall and shouted loudly to the many Jinshi.
"Here!" A group of Jinshi slightly arched their hands towards the empty throne, and then slowly withdrew.
Palace Examination Ceremony Officer, this is Li Xuan's duty today.
Before and after the palace examination, he loudly called out to all the scholars.
This was originally the responsibility of Yang Shan, the young minister of Honglu Temple, but for some reason, he asked for leave a few days ago, so the responsibility was assigned to Li Xuan.
The palace examination is over, everyone exits, and the next step is for the ministers to judge the papers.
You don’t have to wait too long for the Imperial Examination in the Tang Dynasty. Basically, the examination will be completed today, and the examiners from the Ministry of Personnel, as well as the central ministers, will determine the rankings that night.
Early tomorrow morning, the palace examination list will be announced to the public.
There are a total of thirty-nine test papers, and there are about ten people to judge the papers, and one person can take up to three or four papers. As long as there is no selfishness, everything will be over quickly, and it will not even affect everyone's return home at night.
Li Xuan glanced at the examination papers distributed to each prime minister. He was a little curious, what kind of top scholar would be selected in this year's palace examination?
During the examination, the first place was Shaanzhou Cheng Xingmou, and the second place was Anlu Xu Qie.
Will the results of the imperial examination be significantly different from those of the general examination?
…
At some point, a drizzle suddenly began to fall in the square outside the main hall.
The entire Daming Palace and the entire Chang'an were shrouded in a layer of drizzle.
But in the Hanyuan Hall, everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. The officials of various ministries and prime ministers quickly scanned the examination papers one by one.
Those who qualify for the top ten are placed on one side, and the rest are placed on the other side.
According to the regulations of the imperial court, the examiners of the Ministry of Personnel and the central ministers must select the top ten candidates in this palace examination and send them to the emperor for him to select the top three candidates.
Li Xuanhong, the Shaoqing of the temple, originally should have left after the palace examination and the ceremony, but because he had something to do, he approached Li Xian.
"Your Highness!" Li Xuan called Li Xian aside in a low voice.
Li Xian looked back at the empty throne, raised his hands to Li Xuan and said, "What's the matter, Uncle Wang?"
Li Xuan bowed solemnly to Li Xian and said: "I hope to second the crown prince to lead a hundred cavalrymen on the right, and I ask for your permission."
The prince was seconded to lead a hundred cavalrymen on the right. When Li Xian heard this, his expression changed.
There are six commanders in the East Palace: the prince's left and right guards, the prince's left and right siyu commanders, the prince's left and right Qingdao commanders, and the various guards each lead the army from three to five.
The local military government has about a thousand people each. If it really comes to a critical moment, the prince can mobilize at least tens of thousands of people.
These people took turns to take turns in the crown prince's palace. Although the prince could not get close to him, these people had already been marked by the crown prince.
These people must strictly abide by the rules in their daily lives. If they make the slightest mistake, they will immediately be suspected of being rebellious.
Now when Li Xuan said about deploying troops, Li Xian immediately became nervous.
Looking at Li Xuan's solemn eyes, Li Xian's somewhat flustered expression quickly calmed down, and he cupped his hands and said, "What's the use of Uncle Wang's deployment of troops?"
"Except for the time." After Li Xuan finished speaking, he leaned closer and said softly: "I have reported to the saint, and the saint has approved it. After today's palace examination is over, His Highness can just reply to the saint. I will wait for His Highness outside the palace."
"It turns out that Uncle Wang has already requested the order." Li Xian immediately looked relaxed, but then he frowned and asked, "Then why the eunuch did not pass the order on this matter."
"Your Majesty will ask your Majesty when the time comes." Li Xuan cupped her hands, then turned and left.
Li Xian's expression became solemn. He was not stupid. When Li Xuan said this, it was obvious that something involved the inner chamberlain.
Li Xian shuddered inexplicably, but he had not forgotten that Li Xuan was currently investigating the Tubo case, but what would happen if the eunuch was eventually found.
Li Xian had the urge to return to the East Palace immediately, but the Hall of Talents was not completely over yet and he could not leave yet.
Soon, the test papers were divided into two piles: the upper one, the first and second place, and the lower one, the third and third place.
Li Xian followed the ministers to the Zichen Palace and waited until the emperor and queen made a decision together.
…
Li Xuan held a bamboo umbrella in her hand and walked slowly in the drizzle.
Ahead, the adjutants from various departments had already left the Danfeng Gate, only Li Xuan was still walking leisurely.
Now, although he can't do anything about the mastermind behind the scenes, he can definitely force him through the prince and the emperor.
As for destroying evidence, Li Xuan couldn't help but shake his head. He hadn't even found out who the other party was, so how could he get the other party to destroy the evidence.
And cautious people like them will never leave any evidence behind their actions.
Even when Li Xuan appeared in this matter, they had already become vigilant.
Now is the time to stop the grass and scare the snake.
Anyway, the people watching all this now are not him, but the emperor and the prince, and he is even more afraid to reveal his flaws easily.
Act more and more cautiously, but for many things, caution alone is not enough...
While thinking, Li Xuan had already walked to Danfeng's door.
At this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps sounded behind him, and they followed him closely.
Li Xuan turned around subconsciously and saw a young palace servant coming quickly in the drizzle.
The chamberlain panted and shouted to Li Xuan: "King Nanchang, your Majesty has issued a summons."
Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, but then he immediately raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Li Xuan, obeys the order."
Although he didn't know the specific reason for calling him back, he knew in his heart that something must have happened.
At that time, Emperor Taizong was in the court, looking at the new scholars in the hall, and said proudly: "All the talents in the world are under my control."
The imperial examination has always been a means for the imperial court to promote poor families and suppress the influence of noble families on the court.
Although most of the people above the imperial court are still aristocratic families, the power of the poor families is also growing day by day.
By balancing the contradictions between the two, the emperor had great control over the court. Especially after Empress Wu, the number of disciples from poor families increased year by year.
But the aristocratic family still has a way to fight back within the rules, that is, the top picks in the past years are basically all taken by the children of the aristocratic family.
Some are truly talented and some are slightly weaker, but by all means, they can all achieve the top spot.
It is a custom in the imperial examinations of the Tang Dynasty that whoever is the number one scholar in a certain subject will be named after him at this moment.
For example, in the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, the number one scholar was Zheng Yi. Therefore, the second year of the Yuan Dynasty was named Zheng Yi.
Now in the third year of Shangyuan, things have quietly changed.
The head of the examination selected by the Ministry of Civil Affairs was no longer a child of aristocratic families, but Cheng Xingmou from Shaanzhou who came from a poor family.
This kind of thing is extremely rare in the entire imperial examination history of the Tang Dynasty.
When Li Xuan learned about this result, he knew that this matter would be in big trouble.
That's why he was so surprised when he learned that four of Wu Yue's descendants were on the imperial list.
But fortunately, Zhuge Minghui and Lu Lou both have real talents and knowledge. Although Xu An and Sun Xian are slightly less talented, it is a fluke to be ranked on the imperial list, especially at the bottom.
In this way, even if he does not do well in the imperial examination, he cannot be said to have engaged in malpractice for personal gain.
During this period of time, Li Xuan was busy investigating the Tibetan spy case, and he didn't care much about the imperial examination.
After the results came out, he immediately knew that someone had blocked the cold arrows shot at him.
Now, the real storm is coming.
The examination cannot be changed. Everything has been decided by the official's examination and the officials. Now if you want to make a comeback, you must take the palace examination again.
Each examiner in the palace examination, as well as the prime ministers and ministers, all have their own right to recommend candidates for the number one scholar.
If people's minds are slightly provocative, the results will naturally be completely different from those of ordinary people.
…
Li Xuan walked into the Zichen Hall with a respectful expression. His eyes quickly passed over the prime ministers and ministers standing on both sides. Finally, he glanced at the imperial case in front of him. Then he lowered his head and cupped his hands and said: "Li Xuan, King of Nanchang, pays homage to your majesty." , Queen of Heaven, Prince."
Although it was just a quick glance, Li Xuan had already seen clearly that on top of the imperial case, there was a stack of seven test papers in the upper left corner. That was the list of top two students that had been decided, and the remaining three test papers. One copy is placed in the upper right corner, and two copies are placed in front of Li Zhi.
Obviously, the third place has been decided, and what is left is the first and second place, the battle between the number one pick and the second place pick.
The faces of the various ministers and other ministers were calm, but looking at the emperor's indecision, one knew how difficult this matter was.
Li Zhi pressed his eyebrows slightly, raised his head and looked at Li Xuan: "The King of Nanchang is Pingshen."
Slightly adjusting his sitting posture, Li Zhi continued: "I heard that you have had contact with Cheng Xingmou, Xu Qie, and Zhuge Minghui. I would also like to hear your evaluation of them."
Li Xuan was suddenly startled. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, today's palace examination will be decided by the prime ministers, the examiners, and Your Majesty. I dare not make false claims."
Li Zhi waved his hands carelessly and said: "It doesn't matter, you can say whatever you want. I'm just asking casually. I've already asked the prince, the queen, and other people about their affairs, including the people in Zhongshushe. , now I want to hear your opinion."
Hearing what Li Zhi said, Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
His eyes quickly passed over the faces of the prime ministers, the six ministers, and the relevant examiners on both sides.
These people have different positions. Li Xuan doesn't know what they think in their hearts, nor does he know how they come to their conclusions. But regarding the current matter, whether and how to speak, Li Xuan must be cautious and not pay attention. , you may offend countless people.
Li Xuan glanced at the two test papers placed on the imperial desk, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I don't know what the dispute is that makes your Majesty unable to make a conclusion, but the matter of the number one scholar must still be based on the imperial examination papers. As a conclusion, all other things, whether it is human relationships or conduct, are matters for the future."
Since the scientific examination is a written test, everything will be decided based on the results of the written test, and there is absolutely no need to mix in other things.
Especially this time it involves Tubo affairs.
Li Xuan's words suddenly made all the ministers feel solemn.
Li Zhi nodded and said, "You continue."
(End of chapter)
