Chapter 170 169 Palace Examination

Wei Guangde's mentality was bad. He stood outside the Meridian Gate and thought a lot. He didn't know why he entered the Meridian Gate with the tribute procession.

When he came to his senses, he had followed the team to the outside of Fengtian Hall and was standing on the west side of Danqi.

In front of them were the officials in green uniforms. They were not qualified to enter the Fengtian Hall. Only high-ranking officials could set foot there.

But at this time, the door of Fengtian Palace was completely open, and Wei Guangde could still vaguely see what was going on inside.

After all the officials and tributes stood still, the minister of Honglu Temple, who was in charge of court etiquette, asked the emperor to ascend to the palace. As the ritual music sounded, Emperor Jiajing came out from one side and entered the Fengtian Palace in his robes. At this moment, the sound of a cleansing whip was heard in front of the hall.

voice.

"Pah, pah. pah."

After the emperor sat down, the officials and tribute officials kowtowed to Emperor Jiajing on the throne amid the chorus of the officials from Honglu Temple.

Afterwards, Wei Guangde didn't hear anything that was said in the Fengtian Palace despite being far away. At the moment, he was mainly focusing on adjusting his mentality.

Try to let yourself get rid of those emotions that came out of nowhere before. He should empty his mind and let himself be completely quiet.

As the words "Xuan Jinke's tributes go to the palace" came into his ears, Wei Guangde mechanically followed the others again, walked forward slowly, and stepped up the steps step by step.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing, who was sitting in the Fengtian Hall, looked at the three hundred tributes slowly walking towards him. His eyes were a little dazed and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Under the guidance of officials from Honglu Temple, Wei Guangde and the others were qualified to enter Fengtian Temple at this time.

Wei Guangde and the others' positions were regulated, and the tributes were required to keep a sufficient distance between them until everyone was in their correct positions. Standing on His Highness, they once again kowtowed to Emperor Jiajing on the throne.

When the tribute students entered the hall, the civil and military officials in the hall had already voluntarily moved to both sides of the hall.

Although Fengtian Hall is large, three hundred people came in at once and were still packed to the rafters.

"Let's get started."

Seeing that it was almost done, Emperor Jiajing spoke in a low voice to the eunuch next to him.

Immediately, the eunuch following the emperor unfolded an imperial edict with his hands and read it loudly with a thin but penetrating voice.

"In the thirty-fifth year of the Jiaxu period, the imperial court of Jiaxu tested the system of tribute scholars in the world and said: I only established the emperor according to the destiny to lead the country. I must have ministers who can help me. This is the so-called neighbor. It is said that Yao and Shun could not defeat the saints without the help of great sages and great virtues.

, how can the two saints be alone? In ancient times, the head of the head of state was really one body, with the upper and lower parts supporting each other. No.

If things are so different now, I regard my heart as my heart, so why should I be regarded as my enemy? I am willing to serve the country and the people. I am ignorant of the philosophy of others and the wisdom of capable officials. I want to know what I can do.

.Fang'er Duoshi, since what I have seen is true, I should know the way that is beneficial to me. I should know how to deal with it, do not hold back, and do not deceive."

After the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, Emperor Jiajing waved his hand. The eunuch put away the bright yellow scroll in his hand and walked down slowly, handing it to the promotion officer for this palace examination. This was the awarding of the questions, and the promotion officer placed the questions.

On the proposal for the middle passage of Fengtian Hall.

The emperor has issued the policy question, and the next step is for the Gongsheng students to answer it. However, before that, Wei Guangde and the others were guided by the officials of Honglu Temple to once again bow to the emperor on the throne with five bows and three kowtows. After the ceremony,

Get up and stand.

The Ming Dynasty's five bows and three kowtows are the rites of kings and ministers. The first four of the five bows are all for bowing, and the last one is for three kowtows. They are all taken from the nine bows of "The Rites of Zhou".

As for the three-kneel-and-nine-kowtow ceremony that the people talk about, it was actually used by emperors to worship heaven, but it was abused by later dynasties.

In just ten minutes, Wei Guangde knelt down three times. He began to seriously think about whether it was good or bad to stay in the capital and serve as a capital official.

"Let's start the exam."

On the throne, Emperor Jiajing looked at this year's tribute scholars. In a few days, they would transform into Jinshi and become disciples of the emperor.

He has been sitting in this position for more than thirty years. After more than ten palace examinations, he no longer had the initial feeling that "all the talents in the world have fallen into my trap." He looked at His Highness's tributes indifferently.

He must attend the palace examination, the country's talent promotion ceremony, and at least go through the basic etiquette.

However, Emperor Jiajing could not sit still at this moment. He might still think it would be better to go back to Xiyuan for a ritual ceremony, so he wanted to end these tedious procedures as soon as possible.

After he finished speaking, the eunuchs who had been waiting at the side came forward with a small table in the order that had been arranged. Behind them, there were people holding pens and inkstones and began to distribute them.

After the eunuchs finished their work, the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette began to distribute the question papers. Each person had twelve papers, no more, no less, which were handed over to them by the printing officer last night after checking and printing.

The question paper is mounted on rice paper and is extremely elegant. Each page is 40 centimeters long and 12 centimeters wide. There are red lines and straight grids. Each line has 24 words. Each word must be written neatly.

The candidates knelt down to receive the question papers one by one, went to their seats and began to answer the questions.

"The head of state is really one body, and the top and bottom support each other."

This question was beyond Wei Guangde's expectations. At this moment, he was reciting a passage he extracted silently in his mind.

Before that, Wei Guangde had always thought that the questions asked by Emperor Jiajing would either solve the problem of Tatars in the north or the Japanese pirates in the south, or at the worst, solve financial problems and contribute to his career of cultivating immortals. However, Wei Guangde really did not expect that the questions asked by the emperor would be

It's this.

The holy edict has said before that in ancient times Yao and Shun had great sages to help them, and the credit was not given to the two sages alone, but to everyone.

Is this going to start emphasizing "the monarch and his ministers are of one mind"?

Could it be that Emperor Jiajing had discovered that the atmosphere in the officialdom was corrupted, party disputes intensified, and the administration of officials was severely damaged, gradually falling out of the emperor's control.

Therefore, the emperor's policy questions reflected his strong desire for clean and honest administration and harmony between the monarch and his ministers.

After Wei Guangde read the questions, he did not start answering immediately, but began to think about it.

In fact, most candidates did not answer the questions immediately at this time, but were thinking about what the policy analysis meant.

The imperial examination is different from the previous provincial examination. The general examination does not look at literary talent but at solving problems.

A large part of the score in the palace examination lies in the candidate's understanding of the question maker's intention and how to answer it. If the answer is correct, the candidate will excel and his ranking may be improved.

Inadvertently, Wei Guangde secretly raised his head and glanced at the person on the throne. Although he was wearing a crown and his face was obscured by the crown hanging in front of the crown plate, Wei Guangde could still vaguely see the face of Emperor Jiajing, his long face and forehead.

He seems a bit tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. His beard is not bad, not a big beard.

The imperial robe on his body is also "carrying the sun and moon on his shoulders, and carrying the stars on his back." In fact, Wei Guangde couldn't see clearly. This is what the book says, so it seems correct.

Um?

Wei Guangde suddenly felt strange. He seemed to see a meaningful smile hanging from the corner of the emperor's mouth.

However, Wei Guangde's heart tightened immediately, and he felt as if his eyes were meeting the person's.

Yes, even though I wanted to leave, I couldn't just get up and leave right away. Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong was also sitting on the throne looking down at the candidates below.

Some people are already polishing their ink, while more are still thinking.

This time, Emperor Jiajing also had a whim. Nowadays, candidates like to try to figure out the emperor's heart. In fact, it is not just the candidates, but also the ministers under him.

Folks all think that the imperial court is having a headache because of the Japanese and northern captives, and most people in the officialdom know that the imperial court is financially tight. I think the following candidates have the same mentality. They should bet in this direction when they take the questions. I just don't agree with you.

.

Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing's mouth revealed a playful smile, and then he found a guy near the door of the hall secretly looking up at him.

As the Ninth Five Emperor, Emperor Jiajing would naturally not be the same as him. After all, he was almost his disciple.

Moreover, as far as his location is concerned, he is probably among the top three. It may be impossible for him to come here again in the future, to the Fengtian Temple.

Emperor Jiajing was not a fool, on the contrary, he was extremely shrewd.

He is familiar with the routines of officialdom, including various hidden rules.

But, what's the use of knowing, some things are already established facts, and even he, as the emperor, cannot change them.

As for the little guy peeking at him, Emperor Jiajing saw clearly that he was not old, probably less than twenty years old. He was quite conspicuous among a group of Gongsheng students who were mainly in their thirties and forties.

The face is too tender.

On a whim, Emperor Jiajing put away his smile, but did not make a serious face, but nodded to him gently.

Well, even he himself didn't know what his action meant, and Wei Guangde in the audience naturally couldn't understand it.

I had heard a lot of gossip in the capital before, saying that Emperor Jiajing liked to write notes that normal people couldn't understand and give them to the cabinet for them to guess when he had something to do. Wei Guangde felt that he was mysterious.

Okay, now that Emperor Jiajing gave him the action, he couldn't figure out what it meant.

However, the palace examination process had come to this point, and Emperor Jiajing felt that it was almost done. He nodded to the eunuch Huang Jin beside him, then stood up and left Fengtian Palace. After the emperor left, other officials who had nothing to do with this palace examination also

Withdrew one after another.

Because when the palace examination is being held, naturally no eunuch will shout "retreat from the court". Even when the high-ranking officials and nobles left the Fengtian Palace, they were careful and tried not to make any noise. The censor and the examiner were still watching eagerly.

Wei Guangde couldn't understand the meaning of the emperor's little move, but he had already begun to sharpen his ink at this moment, and it was not enough to remain in a daze.

The name, place of origin and other information written on the front of the paper are all written in a mess. This happens at the beginning of every imperial examination, and it will be sealed after a while.

Regarding the strategy for the imperial examination, Wei Guangde was still trying to figure out whether it was better to flatter the emperor or flatter the emperor. Finally, he thought of several plans, chose a flattering method, and let's get started.

"I heard from my ministers that the emperor governs the world. He must fulfill the duties of officials and then he can lead to the rule of the world. He must obtain the needs of officials and then he can enjoy the ease of the world."

This is the format of a policy discussion. Everyone must write "I will hear from my ministers" at the beginning, and then my own discussion will follow.

Let’s talk about the big principles first. When an emperor rules the world, he must have a method of selecting people to govern the world. He must acquire skills in managing officials before he can enjoy the comfort of the world.

Then came the meaning of selecting talents. Wei Guangde was so eloquent but he didn't dare to write casually. Instead, he had to think over the answer several times in his mind before he dared to write the question paper.

This is a waste of time. Although the palace examination lasts for one day, it will last until sunset in the afternoon, when the paper will be forcibly collected and the candidates' answering questions will end.

Although it was only a policy statement of a thousand words, it consumed countless brainpower of Wei Guangde.

Even if he has thought about how to write later, Wei Guangde still has to work hard when writing the question paper. Perhaps because he was beaten too much when he was a child, Wei Guangde is not very confident in his calligraphy now.
To be continued...