After Xun Mou hesitated for a moment, he suddenly came up with his plan and said, "Whether it is or not, I will know as long as I catch Lu Zuo when the time comes and ask."
The prince nodded and smiled, "That's right! I am very interested in this book!"
Since the beginning of spring, King Wei has been very busy. At the end of the first session of the examination, the work of marking papers began. When the candidates have finished answering the questions, the papers will be handed over to the examiner, who will stamp them, and then Then it is sent to the sealing office. The sealing officer will fold, seal, name and number the test paper, and then hand it over to the transcription office. After it is transcribed by a special person with a red pen, it will be handed over to the reading office for reading, and then handed over to the office. Collection, and finally handed over to the chief examiner and fellow examiners for evaluation.
In addition, the emperor's dragon body was not in good health this time, so he ordered that the imperial examination of Jinke did not require the emperor's personal examination. The Ministry of Rites directly selected the candidates for the general examination. The top three in the first class were selected by several bachelors in collaboration with the King of Wei. The examination papers for the third class were drawn up by After the Han emperor personally read it, he decided the ranking, which surprised and delighted the King of Wei.
Due to the large number of references this year and the huge workload, the release date of the results has been postponed. It was not until February 25th that the official list was finally filled out.
Today is the time to submit the list of candidates for the examination to the emperor. The list was originally scheduled to be announced on the 25th, but the emperor has already recovered from his illness, so he has to review the list in person during the morning court, and the final ranking will be announced before the list is announced.
The night before this day, Wei King Liu Xu could not help but toss and turn all night long, unable to suppress the excitement in his heart. When the morning came, he was even more energetic, and suddenly felt that the eyes of the ministers looking at him were respectful and flattering.
The Xuanzheng Hall was filled with civil and military officials early on, because everyone knew that today should be one of the most important days. Selecting talents for the imperial court was one of the major events in the prosperity of the country. Everyone is also concerned about whether their relatives or nephews can be on the list. Although the full list cannot be fully known today, according to previous years, the emperor should make the top three in the civil and military subjects public.
All the lists, as well as the top three candidates for the first place, Wei Wang Liu Xu had handed over to the Han Emperor yesterday, and they were waiting for the Han Emperor to make them public in advance today.
However, the emperor's morning court meeting was much later than usual. The ministers waited here and there, but no one was seen. Everyone in the palace slowly began to whisper to each other, and then started to discuss in groups. Xun Mou and the prince looked at each other and smiled. They knew that a good show was about to be staged next. They had made arrangements since last night, how the trusted officials present should speak, answer, and echo.
The Han Emperor's uncharacteristic behavior today made Wei King Liu Xu gradually start to panic. He vaguely felt that something was wrong. With his father's nature, it was definitely impossible to sleep late. Is there something urgent? But what could be more important than what happened today? Is he sick again? But didn’t he recover from his illness yesterday? And if you are sick, the deacon and eunuch should notify the court in advance? King Wei thought about it over and over again, but he still didn't understand what was going on with his father.
Some people in the hall could not wait any longer and asked the eunuch in front of the hall, "How is the Holy Spirit?" The eunuch just raised his head with a deep expression and ignored the other ministers' inquiries.
After a while, a sharp voice came, "The emperor has arrived, all officials are taking their seats in silence."
At this time, Emperor Han walked slowly from the back hall to the hall. Everyone looked up and saw that Emperor Han looked solemn and said nothing. With the help of the eunuch, he sat on the dragon chair with difficulty. Everyone thought that the emperor should Sick again.
All the civil and military officials knelt down and saluted, and after shouting "Long Live the Mountain", the Holy Emperor did not speak for a long time and showed no intention of asking everyone to stand up. So they all looked around with the corners of their eyes, mistakenly thinking that they had not heard what the Emperor said. But everyone is kneeling? Your Majesty's mood seems wrong today?
Some bold ministers could not help but look up at the Holy Emperor, but saw that the Han Emperor on the dragon throne looked pale, his eyes were red, and there seemed to be a few strands of white hair on his temples. Emperor Han held a book in his right hand, and held the dragon head armrest on the left side of the dragon chair tightly with his left hand, leaning forward slightly.
Emperor Han looked at His Highness's officials, coughed, and asked in a stern voice: "Where is Liu Xu?"
At this time, Liu Xu was feeling strange. When he heard his father calling his name, he hurriedly kneeled out of work and replied with a trembling voice: "My son is here!"
The Emperor of Han then threw the folded bag with his right hand heavily towards His Highness, hitting Liu Xu's crown, "Take a closer look yourself!"
The moment Liu Xu hit him, his whole body trembled as if struck by lightning. In a panic, Liu Xu forced himself to calmly pick up the book. He recognized this booklet at a glance. This was the list he presented to his father for the examination yesterday.
Liu Xu opened the list tremblingly and read it again. Is there anything wrong with the long list? All are lists drawn up by myself, other examiners and bachelors! The top three in the first class are also names recommended by several academicians.
Liu Xu looked at it and said excitedly: "Father, this is the list drawn up by my ministers and the academicians. Is there anything wrong with it?"
"It's not wrong!" Emperor Han patted the armrest with his left hand, "Take a look at the names and place of origin of the top three."
"The top three in martial arts are Liu Bozhao, who is from Kuozhou. Wang Yan is from Xinzhou. Gao Yun is from Puzhou. The top three in martial arts are Lu Zuo, who is from Shanzhou. Lu Renxiang, who is from Shanzhou. .Gao Han, a native of Puzhou." Liu Xu read loudly.
Everyone waited for Lu Zuo to finish reading. Some people in the hall who knew the reason shook their heads with serious expressions.
Emperor Han shook his head and said angrily: "I trust you so much, but I didn't expect that you would ignore the old rules of etiquette and law and blindly bend the law for your own personal gain."
When Liu Xu saw that his father suddenly condemned him, he repeatedly bowed his head and said with tears: "My son, I really don't know where I went wrong? Please look at it clearly!"
"See for yourself. According to the laws of our ancestors, candidates for the scientific examination must be divided into quotas according to their regions. Who are the top three in the Jinshi examination?"
Liu Xu took another closer look and discovered that there were two people from Shanzhou and one from Puzhou. Sure enough, this time he was in great trouble. Liu Xu kowtowed as if he was pounding garlic, "Father, you are aware of this. My child doesn't know the reason. Besides, these lists were given to me by several other great scholars, and my child didn't know about them."
Emperor Han finally calmed down the anger in his heart, and then said: "Okay! Then let's announce the few bachelors who participated in the evaluation this time to the palace."
Soon, four old men wearing gauze hats and gray temples came into the hall. After the four people saluted, they saw all the officials kneeling, so they did not dare to raise their heads.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty pointed to some of their bachelors and asked: "Tell me why among the top three candidates in the first class of the Jinshi Department there are candidates who are also from the North. The King of Wei doesn't know, don't you still know?" "
The older man in the middle explained calmly: "Your Majesty, please Rong Bing. It is true that the ministers and others drafted the candidates, but it was the King of Wei who finalized the list. The ministers and others reminded the King of Wei about this situation. According to the scientific selection of our dynasty, In the talent system, the selected list must balance the inter-provincial quotas. The quota of tribute students must be based on the sixty-fourths of the north and the south, and the top three must be divided into two places based on their native places. The list of the top three selected this time has been drafted by the ministers and others. The above-mentioned situation did not occur in the selection of candidates, but when the King of Wei made changes, I really don’t know."
After the old minister said this, several people kowtowed "dong dong dong" several times.
