As a grandfather of the country, Li Mao basically didn't use copper coins himself.

He had a lot of entourage and subordinates, and he rarely paid for himself when he went out, and even if he wanted to bring money, he was carrying scattered gold and silver, and there was no reason to carry a pile of copper coins.

But the common people still use copper coins more.

One is the problem that silver can't be opened, and the other is that it can't use such a large face value. Two taels of silver can make a person's family live for a month, and on weekdays, dozens of dollars can be used to buy rice and noodles, and there is no need to use silver.

Because copper coins are bulky, many people wrap their money around their waists when they go out, which is also called "coiling". Li Mao has also seen people in the family wrap money around their waists, and he is glad that he is fortunate to be the master.

When he returned home, Li Mao called the bookkeeper who was in charge of the money at home and showed him the money.

"Cui Accounting, look at the difference between this money."

The bookkeeper took the copper coin, tossed it in his hand, and looked at the light for a long time, showing a surprised expression.

"Master Qiqi, this is a privately minted coin." Cui Shufang said respectfully, "It seems that it has been many years, and the anger is exhausted, and the work is relatively fine, compared with ordinary private coinage, it is considered to be of the highest quality." ”

"Private money? Is this private money? Li Mao was taken aback.

For those who privately mint copper coins, the main offender and accomplice are beheaded and abandoned in the downtown according to the law, and according to the rules, not only the offender is beheaded, but the whole family must be confiscated as slaves, which is considered a very heavy punishment.

How much money did Loomer's father steal back then? Did the county magistrate and other officials who arrested him and put him in prison know that the money was private money?

And how did he get out of prison?

Li Mao couldn't wait to run out of the city, grab Lu Mo and ask again.

"Master, although there is little private money in this dynasty, it is not nothing. The money from the Great Chu official furnace, ten pieces weigh one tael, containing eighty percent of copper, judging from the coins of the past dynasties, Zhenyuan Tongbao is regarded as the best quality. Nowadays, the price of copper is getting higher and higher, and there have begun to appear twelve copper coins of one tael on the market, but there are still few in the capital. Cui looked at the copper coin and felt that it was rare.

Private coinage is generally circulated in a small area, the capital is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, and the circulation of private coinage in the capital is to play lanterns in the toilet.

"I don't know where Lord Lu Dao got this copper coin?"

"A gift from a junior." Li Mao took it lightly and took back the private coin. "Thank you Cui for your doubts."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

"Don't talk about it with anyone."

"Yes."

Li Mao sent away the puzzled Cui bookkeeper, took the copper coin and looked at it for a long time, and finally ordered:

"Prepare the horse, I want to leave the house."

Li Mao left the mansion precisely to find Liu Peng, the new political envoy who remained in Beijing and did not set off to return to Fenzhou, and Senator Wang Zhiming.

It is a great sin to mint copper coins privately, but now it is not possible to know the truth with just a private coin and a few words of a young man. If it is rashly reported to the imperial court, it is extremely inappropriate.

Qi'an County is different from Lingyuan County, which is a small county, but it is a large county in Fenzhou, and this rich businessman named Wang Lin will definitely not do anything in the local area, and he must have left clues. Moreover, when someone stole a large household, it was also a big case, and there must be a file.

Even if there is no file, you can always find out what was going on when you look up the officials who were in office at the time.

There have always been people in Fenzhou Horse Farm who are secretly supplying to accumulate so many horses. But until now, I don't know who is transporting the materials and where they are being sent from, and now that private money has been found, maybe this clue is on private money.

Even if it has nothing to do with the racecourse, the minting of private coins is not a trivial matter, and if you can find out where the money goes, you can know a little about the people behind the private coins.

Li Mao went straight to the Hong Hotel.

Officials who did not have a place to live in Kyoto lived here.

Li Mao soon saw Liu Wang and the others, he took out the copper coin, told Lu Mo's life experience, and then mentioned the origin of the copper coin, both of them were shocked.

"In fact, there has always been private money circulating in Fenzhou, but the amount is not much, and it is often less than one percent, which is difficult to detect." Wang Zhiming said, "There should be this situation in all states, now the price of copper is high, the minting of official money is unprofitable, the money bureau has not minted money for many years, the circulation of copper money is insufficient, and private money is not overflowing, and officials everywhere are also turning a blind eye." ”

Liu Peng has only been transferred to Fenzhou for three years, but Wang Zhiming has been in Fenzhou for six years, and he is more familiar with people's livelihood than Liu Penglai.

He smiled bitterly and said the helpless facts, "This Qiyuan County is a rich county, connected to Tongzhou, if someone in Qiyuan minted private money, I am afraid it would have already flowed everywhere." ”

For a while, the faces of the three of them were not very good.

Anyone who has just taken office for a few days and makes a stealing thing will not be in a good mood.

"It's been too long since this incident, even if Wang Lin dares to stay where he is and continue to do this kind of business, I'm afraid he will be cautious and won't be able to catch any evidence. I am in Beijing, and the news is inconvenient, so I also ask the two of you to make a secret visit to find out the clues as soon as possible. Li Mao bowed his hand to the two colleagues, "There are several post stations in Fenzhou that can send letters directly to the capital, and I have informed Lord Yu Wang of this, and the two of them can keep in touch with the capital at any time." ”

What Li Mao meant by saying this was to tell these two Fenzhou officials that he would show the emperor about this matter, but he would not make it public when he went to court, and they could communicate with the emperor directly about this matter without having to communicate with him about everything.

As soon as Li Mao said this, Liu Wang and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they were promoted because of the Fenzhou incident, they had no intention of taking sides. Although Li Mao discovered this matter, this kind of thing should not be in Li Mao's hands.

If he wants to ask them to investigate secretly, to care about everything, to seek power, or if he has other ideas, they will not do it.

The meaning of this Xinguo Duke is that he will enter the palace to report this matter directly to the emperor, but let them be prepared first.

If that's the case, they naturally have nothing but gratitude.

Li Mao himself had no intention of getting involved in such troublesome matters. He himself was already a bag, and he really didn't have the energy to spend a long time investigating this private money.

After Li Mao said goodbye to Liu Wang and the others, he handed a sign to the palace and went to play to the emperor.

Chu Rui naturally attached great importance to this, and immediately summoned Liu and Wang into the palace.

Fortunately, Li Mao had already been to the Hong Hotel before and told them about it, and the two of them were prepared and answered in an orderly manner, which made Chu Rui also very appreciative.

These two new Fenzhou magistrates really didn't choose the wrong person!

For Li Mao's considerate actions, Liu Wang and the others are still very useful. Especially Wang Zhiming, his background is not high, he can only be a petty official in the border area, and he finally got through, and I am afraid that it will come to an end.

If it weren't for the fact that he was used to living a peaceful life in Lingyuan County, he really didn't want to get involved in these factional disputes, and a few years earlier, when he saw such an opportunity, he was afraid that he would really get closer to this Xinguo Gong.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was the time of spring.

The pre-exam atmosphere was tense everywhere in the capital. The "Weishuang Hall" of the Xinguo Mansion has been crowded with students who have come to borrow books these days, and there are also some students from other places who have come to take the exam.

Gu Qing heard Li Rui explain that although Da Chu's spring is strict, the ranking can be "publicly recommended".

At first, this was the idea of Zhang Yun of the old Jin Kingdom, who believed that the admission of scholars in the imperial examination was determined by the quality of the test papers answered in the examination room, which made it difficult to fully examine a person's actual talent. As a result, many students who participated in the Jinshi course handed over the representative works they wrote on weekdays to the examiner and other ministers for reference, so that they could have a comprehensive understanding of the actual level of the candidates before the examination.

If there are really talented people among them, these references can be "publicly recommended" and recommended to Lu Shang. Generally, the examiner has a preconceived feeling, which is of great benefit to these students who participate in the imperial examination.

It's just that if this kind of recommendation is untrue, the recommender will also be implicated, and the emperor is very strict about the number of recommended places and the situation of malpractice, and most officials will not easily do this kind of recommendation for people they don't know.

Therefore, this is very different from Gu Qingzhidao's later imperial examinations. In this way, it still depends on people's feelings. Whether or not real talents can be selected depends on whether the examiner can be impartial.

Although Gu Qing has not participated in the imperial examination, as a student who has been killed in the college entrance examination, he expresses sympathy and understanding for these students.

It is precisely because of this understanding that for those students who submitted papers or recommended themselves, Gu Qing asked Li Mao to treat them with good anger, and not to make a condescending appearance to humiliate others. Most of the people who came to speak low and grovel were not very good people, Li Mao himself relied on his ancestors, so why bother others.

Gu Qing's "kindness" caused Li Mao a lot of trouble.

He was not famous for his talents, most of the people who came to recommend himself to him were dead horses as live horse doctors, and the ones who really voted were talented eunuchs like the Zhang family, the Lu family, and the Qi family. Originally, the number was small, and it was not a trouble, and the line roll was collected, and it was put back to look back.

It's just that as soon as he has a good temper, others think that this prince is easy to talk to, and many people come to try their luck. After waiting for so many years in this subject, the number of people was twice as large as the imperial examination in the early years of Zhenyuan, and Li Mao even drove home from the next dynasty to meet countless "chance encounters" of students.

Speaking of the "Weishuang Hall" of the Xinguo Mansion, there are also a large number of people these days, and small frictions also occur from time to time.

Since ancient times, literati have been inferior to each other, and these are the best people in various places, so naturally there are some small contradictions. The last is Li Rui and Li Ming, the two brothers, who sit in Weishuang Hall every day, they are the main family, they are there, even if the two of them are just children, the identity is here, these students dare not be too public, and finally return to peace for a while.

Although the two children of the Xinguo Mansion don't have to take the exam, there is still a candidate Li Jun who came to the capital from his hometown to take the exam, and the atmosphere of urgency before the exam is not a lot at all.

Li Mao knew his level, and he didn't dare to guide Li Jun indiscriminately, but just entrusted him to Du Jin and Qi Yao, begging them for more guidance.

Du Jin was born in the Jinshi department, and the Gongsheng, who ranked tenth that year, naturally had a lot of experience to teach Li Jun. Qi Yao's family history is related, and his brother is the sacrificial wine of the Guozijian, and he took a lot of scriptures and current affairs for him to make, which can be regarded as a "pre-exam assault" on Li Jun.

Before the Spring Festival, Li Mao also asked the two gentlemen about the situation of Li Jun, and Du Jin sighed:

"At the level of the nephew, the spring is somewhat suspended. The township test is more basic, and he can naturally pass it, but he is ...... Jinshi Hey, his article is straightforward, and there is nothing particularly amazing about political opinions, if the examiner likes this kind of straightforward rhetoric, he may still be shortlisted, if he happens to meet a ......" he didn't say it all.

"There are too many people participating in the scientific expedition this year."

Du Jin's words had already been said very clearly, and Li Mao could only nod.

This kind of thing is the imperial examination, even if the Yin Dynasty before the Hu people's invasion of the east, it was just beginning, although Li Jun has a relative of the Xinguo Mansion, but if his talent is not enough, he reluctantly recommends it, but it is harmful to him.

I can only do my best and obey the fate of God.

On the morning of the ninth day of the first lunar month, Li Jun rode a horse and was sent by the family of the Gongfu to the tribute courtyard of the Ministry of Rites. He had already gained experience from Mr. Du Jin before, and the environment for the examination in this Gongyuan was definitely not good, and menthol and other things must be brought.

Although it is already late spring, it is still a little cold, Li Jun is not afraid of the cold, but he still wears a velvet coat, with the heart of Qiu Taijun and others in the Mansion. If he really wore a jacket to the exam, he was afraid that his cousin would be the first to nag him to death.

When I arrived at the gate of the Tribute Academy, the examination room was surrounded by soldiers and thorn walls, and the inventory was extremely strict. Li Jun asked him where to line up, and entered the thorn wall.

There were many officials at the gate of the Tribute Courtyard. These inspectors first checked the stamps issued by the local government after Li Junxiang's examination, and saw that his physical appearance and the characteristics of the roster sent by the local government were correct, and then opened his things one by one, and then continued to search his body, and even took off his shoes to look at them.

At this moment, Li Jun finally knew what Lu Dao was saying that the candidates were going to come so early.

After such an investigation, it is indeed necessary to investigate for a while.

Not far from Li Jun was a middle-aged student who was inspected, but he quarreled with the inspector.

The inspector took the scientific roster sent by the student's state and county, pointed to the booklet and said: "What is written on it is a microbeard, you have so many beards, it is also called a microbeard?" ”

The student was depressed for a while, pointed to his beard and said:

"The students have been reading at night for the past few days, and they have not tidied up their beards, but when the students took the township exam, they were indeed slight. The student obviously has a square face, and all other features are right, why do you just point to the student's beard and talk! ”

The student who had been inspected by the inspector for a long time was already upset and irritable, if the student was kind and angry to talk to him, he would also raise his hand and go over, but the student collided with him, he was annoyed, put away the booklet and said: "Don't you know that the Tao is 'micro, nothing'?" You don't like that, and you quickly retreat. ”

This is already a strong rhetoric.

There are several interpretations of micro words, it is okay to say "small", it is okay to say "little", and it is okay to say "nothing". Although this student did have a little more beard, his explanation was also smooth.

The inspector deliberately didn't want him to pass over.

The student stayed up to middle age, and only then did he participate in this spring festival, but he was not allowed to enter the examination room because of his beard, and he saw that he would stay up for a few more years, even if he became an official, he was afraid that he would be a white-headed official.

As soon as he heard the words of the tester, he couldn't help but cry bitterly.

Everyone after the middle-aged student couldn't bear to see him, and they also had a lot of opinions about this inspector.

Unfortunately, the list of people in that column are all fellow villagers, and the officials who made the register in the state wrote "micro beards" for the sparse beards, and many of them were people who had grown beards, and if they spoke up, maybe even they would not be able to pass.

For a while, no one dared to speak.

Li Jun had never seen such a thing, and when he saw the student's crying grief, he became angry in his heart, and sneered at the inspector:

"In the Analects, Confucius 'passed through the Song Dynasty in micro-service', according to your statement, doesn't it mean that the Confucian sage passed through the Song Kingdom shirtless and without any clothes!"

As soon as these words came out, it was like a shock, and a group of students looked at him one after another. Some people are really funny when they think about it, and the pop sound is incessant.

The crying middle-aged student couldn't imagine that someone would say such a thing, so he held back his crying and raised his head.

The inspector's lips trembled angrily, and he pointed at Li Jun and scolded, "You student, it's just insulting!" ”

Li Jun regretted a little in his heart, he was destined to lose in his life.

But he was born with this straightforward character, he barely came, he did everything, and it was useless to regret it, so he had to bite the bullet and continue:

"Beards, nails, and other things are not the norm in the first place, and it is inappropriate to use beards and fur as characteristics in the roster. If the student suffers from a serious illness before the exam and loses all his beard, will the student have to change his name and surname in the future? If you meet a gangster on the road and have an extra scar on your face, isn't even yourself? ”

Li Jun saw that the inspector's face was getting worse and worse, so he had to sigh.

"Your words may ruin someone else's life. Why do you do such things that harm others and do not benefit yourself? ”

As soon as he said this, everyone sighed. Some of them have already been inspected, and they do not enter the gate of the tribute courtyard, but look at this bustle at the door. The more people gathered around, and finally attracted the attention of a Ministry of Rites official at the door, who came to visit.

"Why did you get together? Those who have passed the test will go in quickly, and the hospital will be closed after the gongs and drums sound three times, do you want to miss the exam? ”

As soon as the official of the Ministry of Rites spoke, some of them immediately stepped into the tribute courtyard when they saw the excitement.

The examiner saw that there were several students standing in front of a certain column of inspectors, and one of them still had tears on his face, so he went to ask what was wrong. After the other inspectors on the side explained the matter, he glared at the inspectors in the column and let the middle-aged student in.

The middle-aged student didn't expect it to be revealed so easily, thanked the examiner again and again, and quickly entered the Tribute Academy.

"It is the rule of the dynasty to enter the examination according to the book, and it is his duty for the inspector to ask questions. You are right, but you disrupt the examination room, causing students to gather here, almost ......"

The official of the Ministry of Rites was about to take Li Jun's qualification to enter the examination, and the manager of the Xinguo Mansion beside Li Jun saw that the situation was not good, so he hurriedly stepped forward to intercept his words, and lit up the sign of the Xinguo Mansion beside him, and said in a low voice:

"This is the cousin of Lord Xinguo, who went to Beijing to take the exam. He has a straightforward temperament, and I hope that Shangguan will bear with him! ”

The officials of the Ministry of Rites saw that Li Jun was not standing in the passage of the prisoners, obviously a student from all over the country who had passed the township examination to catch the exam, and thought that he was just an ordinary stunned youth, but he didn't expect him to have such a hard backstage.

He glanced at Li Jun and said in his heart, no wonder.

No wonder he dared to speak for that student, because he was not afraid of being implicated.

This official of the Ministry of Rites had no intention of offending the Xinguo Mansion, so he raised it high, fell gently, and walked away without knowing what to do.

Li Jun stood in place, looking at the people who were still admiring him, and suddenly showed an expression of "it turns out that there is a backstage", I don't know what Lu Dao is worried about, and he doesn't stay any longer, he turns around and enters the tribute courtyard.

Li Jun became more and more bored as he walked, and his mind was chaotic.

The official knew that the inspector was at fault, but he did not hold him responsible, but first let the middle-aged student in, solved the root cause of the matter, and then maintained the face of the inspector and wanted to punish his own responsibility.

He was able to help the student speak, but this official was so pressed that he was afraid that no one would speak for him anymore.

If it weren't for his cousin's prominent status, he would have missed out on this imperial examination.

Do all those who are officials need such means? Look at the man's robe, but he is an official of the first and fifth grades, but he is also so well versed in the way of being an official.

He is bent on using merit to gain a foothold for himself, but now it seems that he is not suitable for being an official at all?

And the attitude of the people around you......

Li Jun suddenly looked down on this fame.

Li Jun entered the Tribute Courtyard with a mind full of thoughts, and a red-clothed official standing in an inconspicuous place outside the Tribute Courtyard pointed at Li Jun and instructed the subordinate officials next to him:

"Find out who the student who went in just now is."

"Yes, sir."

After all the students have entered the Tribute Academy, the chief examiner sets up an incense case in front of the steps, and the chief examiner worships the people. After a series of ceremonies, the examiner said a bunch of words of encouragement and began to conduct the exam.

Li Jun looked down on this fame, and simply played it casually with a normal heart, and in this way, he passed the first and second games. After taking the scriptures and poetry in these two exams, Li Jun didn't know if he was extraordinary, and he felt that these two exams were extremely easy.

In the third game, it is the most important time.

The exam questions were sent directly from the palace, and when Li Jun took the exam papers in his hand and opened them, he saw that it was written "wealth must be people's livelihood, strong reliance on people's strength, Qi is dependent on the people's strength, and blessing is cultivated by the people".

Li Jun had listened to the discussion between the two gentlemen at his cousin's house, and in order to strengthen his knowledge of government affairs, Li Mao also told him in detail about the various ills of Dachu today, as well as some thoughts of the saint.

Although the chief examiner and the marker are not today's saints, if the emperor has the heart to personally select talents, he will definitely take a look at the examination papers.

As soon as Li Jun looked at the exam questions, he thought of the things that his cousin said about "hidden households", "homeless people" and "conscription".

He looked at this spring festival, and he became more and more casual about this exam, thinking of where to write, anyway, the marking officer would throw it away if he couldn't read it, all the exam papers were vague, if he didn't win, there would not even be anyone who demolished the name, who knows who wrote this remark.

So he wrote it freely, only to feel that after reading the book for so long, it was at this time completely written according to his heart, and he wrote it with great pleasure.

Li Jun finished all three exams, went back to the house and fell asleep, Gu Qing, Li Mao and others came to ask him how he did in the exam, he only said that it was not good, and the last one was even more scribbled.

Li Mao had been informed in advance by the two gentlemen, and he didn't expect any big surprises, so he had to comfort him to try again next year. Gu Qing saw a lot of students who had landed in the college entrance examination, and hurriedly secretly asked Li Rui and Li Ming to run away from Li Junna without any trouble, and take him to relax.

They didn't know about Li Jun's psychological changes, and they rarely even mentioned the matter of Chun Jun in the past few days, for fear of stimulating him.

On the day of the release of the list, although Gu Qing and the others looked at Li Jun's already seen appearance and had no hope that he would be admitted to the Gongsheng, they still sent their family members to see the list.

Unexpectedly, within an hour, the sound of singing joy suddenly sounded in Qingshui Fang.

Li Jun entered the seventeenth place and became a tribute student.