The world-renowned erudite Confucianism has finally taken the exam. This day was March 19, the 18th year of Kangxi, and as soon as the sky was bright, the Confucians who came to take the exam gathered at Taihe Gate, and the black crows knelt on the ground. The old chief eunuch Zhang Wanqiang stood at the door of the Taihe Palace, waiting for Kangxi to arrive.

Suddenly, there was a sound of Jingyang bells, three silent whips, and the sound of fine drum music came from the heavenly street. After a while, I saw Kangxi coming from behind the Baohe Hall with Luan Yu carried by 36 people, and he didn't come down until he came down in front of the Taihe Palace. Zhang Wanqiang shouted: "Long live the Lord has arrived!" There was silence.

Kangxi got off the court, but he was not in a hurry to enter the hall, stretched his body in the morning sun, took two deep breaths of slightly chilly air, walked and paced, and first looked at the majestic Taihe Palace. After a few months of renovation, this place has been renewed, the spirit turtle, incense ding, crane, and rui beast have been burned with lily incense in their bellies, and the mist is shrouded; The eight objects and camels beside the grade mountain stood solemnly in turn, and the treasure bottle on their backs shone brightly. All this really gives people a feeling of "purple steaming". Kangxi saw that there was a couplet of a new book on the sill pillar, so he paced over and read it silently. Kangxi knew that this was Gao Shiqi's handwriting, the momentum of the rhetoric was impeccable, the gesture was solemn and vigorous, and he couldn't help nodding and smiling.

Kangxi remained motionless, scanning the vast hall with his eyes, and the selected Confucians also fell to the ground and listened to the holy oracle. This edict had been heard several times from the day they were recruited, but today, when it was solemnly read in front of the twenty-eight-year-old young emperor, there was a sense of sublime sacredness.

"Long live Ron!"

Kangxi's voice was very loud, and he spoke: "Zhongqing! The country swept away the rebellion of the three feudatories, the military affairs gradually disappeared, and the cultural movement rose. Wanger and others advocated the holy way, and each showed what they had learned, and lived up to the earnest meaning of my own trial. After Kangxi finished speaking, Zhengqing Buddha Lun of Honglu Temple flashed out of the class, holding a yellow silk spread out with a gold plate, and bowed forward. Kangxi lifted the red pen and waved it on the silk, and wrote down a poem, a poem and two topics. Buddha Lun retreated and held the silk to the pearl, with the bear to give the shoes, the request map, the pearl led the Confucians to the Tiren Pavilion to prepare the volume, has been handed over, at noon in the Tiren Pavilion to give a banquet.

This is a palace examination, and since ancient times, literati and bachelors have never had special treatment. The people were immediately excited, exchanged warm glances with each other, and retreated with indescribable excitement. Kangxi got off the dragon seat, beckoned Mu Zixu to come and asked, "Yesterday, the edict asked Jin Fu to hand over the sign to come in, I don't know if it's coming?" ”

Mu Zixu hurriedly smiled and said: "The servant waited for the master to come to the Taihe Palace, and saw Jin Fu kneeling outside the Qianqing Palace waiting for the decree!" ”

"Call up, I'll see him in the Zhonghe Temple!" After that, he came out of the back door of the hall, paced to the front of the Zhonghe Palace, and saw Jin Fu coming from afar, nodding and smiling: "No courtesy, come in and talk - over there, Tiren Pavilion is taking the school Hongru, and our monarchs and ministers will talk about the matter of governing the river." ”

"Yes!" Jin Fu almost trotted up all the way, and he spoke with a slight panting, "It's just that the Lord has all the opportunities, and all affairs are gathered, and it is ...... to work hard" As he spoke, he followed up with the palace and stood beside Kangxi.

Kangxi opened his mouth and asked, "When are you going to leave for work?" ”

"Back to the emperor," Jin Fu bowed down and said, "The slave's fold has been handed over, I don't know if it can be read by the emperor?" After hearing the hadith, the servants immediately went south to take up their duties. ”

Kangxi nodded, took a cup of honey from the inner service, and handed it to Jin Fu, who was a little flustered: "Give it to you to drink-these days in Beijing, have you heard anything outside?" ”

Jin Fu was a little confused, holding the cup and asking carefully, "I don't know what the holy will means?" ”

Kangxi said lightly: "What do you say about Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei?" ”

Jin Fu didn't expect Kangxi to ask about this, and replied with a deep groan: "The subordinates and workers all expected that the emperor would be in prison, and some of them were a little uneasy when they took the test for filial piety. Chen Menglei was a Fujian scholar who was admired by scholars in the south, and although he was guilty, the evidence seemed insufficient. After the Lord's disposal, everyone looked up to him, saying that the emperor was benevolent and generous, and it was a blessing for scholars in the world! ”

Kangxi stared at Jin Fu and said with a smile: "You don't have to be flattered, I'm afraid of saying cool things!" I know this in my heart, Qingshui Pond does not raise fish, and some things can only be handled in confusion. I've never trampled on people, that's what I'm saying - don't feel irrelevant to you, I'm saying this to you. The fold of the sue for you has already been handed in, do you know? How dare you bring money from the treasury into Beijing to deal with the powerful? Seeing that beads of sweat were oozing from Jin Fu's nose, and he was anxious to plead, Kangxi smiled and waved his hand and said: "Their excerpts have been left behind, and you don't have to go to your heart, it is better to borrow treasury silver than to add fire and silver to knock off the people." You are in charge of the river workers in the future, and the silver is like flowing seawater, and I can't help but remind you to be careful, and if I can't believe you, I won't talk about it. Let's get to the point, there are some water conservancy rules in your excerpt, I can't understand it, and tell me your plan, and I will plan it for you. ”

Listening to Kangxi's words, Jin Fu's nose was sour and he almost burst into tears, and he hurriedly wiped it away. Thinking that he could only play Chen briefly at this time, he took out a picture from his sleeve, which was made by Chen Huang after entering Beijing and staying up all night. Kangxi saw that he stretched out his hand to pass, so he spread it on the case and asked Jin Fu to give him a closer look.

Because he was too close to Kangxi, Jin Fu was a little nervous, and he breathed a sigh of relief before saying: "Lord, the minister's governance of the river is roughly divided into two steps, in short, it is based on the governance of the river and the standard of the submergence...... The first step is to block all the existing breaches of the Yellow River, and gradually move from east to west, so that the Yellow River will be restored. There are five major repair projects, and after the completion of these projects, the road to the sea of the Yellow River will be unimpeded, and then efforts will be made to fill up the old breaches in turn to prevent them from flooding again. Finally, the canal will be picked deep to ensure that the transportation is unharmed......"

Speaking of this, Jin Fu glanced up at Kangxi, and saw that Kangxi was not tired, staring at the river map with blazing eyes, and hurriedly continued: "The second step, in the area of Yifeng, Kaocheng, Henan, dig a middle river along the Yellow River to avoid the danger of the wind surging for 180 miles in the middle of the Yellow River. The ships sailed through the Yellow River for only 20 miles, and even if the Yellow River flooded again, the canal would remain unimpeded. ”

Kangxi nodded while listening, and kept saying "um", and never interrupted. It wasn't until Jin Fu finished speaking that he stroked his head and leaned back, closed his eyes and pondered for a long time, and said, "It sounds like it's feasible." However, I don't know how to water conservancy, and I haven't personally surveyed it, so it's hard to say right now. You just said that after the first step of the project is completed, Caoyun will not be harmed by the Yellow River. I don't know how long it will take? ”

"Long live it, it will take ten years!"

"Ahh No, not for ten years, how about seven years? ”

"Well, let's do it."

"Okay, where's the money?"

"Four million taels a year."

Kangxi couldn't help but take a breath of cold air and said, "I don't know if I don't say it." The annual income of the state is 25 million. is still using troops, if it weren't for the fifteen million that Wei Dongting Customs receives every year, it would have been too late - four million a year would not be able to come out. ”

Of course, Jin Fu knew about these situations. He also calculated carefully, this four million taels, a little surplus-because the household department has never allocated the amount of money to control the river, so it cannot be higher. After thinking about it, Jin Fu smiled and said: "It won't be long before the soldiers are used, Wu Sangui's son will lead thousands of tired soldiers to retreat to the lonely city, and he will be able to take it in a few days." The saint might as well take a little more silver to rule the river, this is the benefit of the world for eternity......"

Kangxi looked at the Taihe Hall standing in front of him through the window, and said slowly: "You said something wrong!" The use of troops is in the ascendant. I said that if we can cure Caoyun in seven years, I am anxious to enter Taiwan and transport warships and sailors to the south. Geldan is in the northwest, and the Rakshasa country is disturbing in the northeast, and they also need to use troops. Grain had to be transported north by boats, and the remnants of Liu Tiecheng, a local bandit in Shandong, gathered in the mountains and forests, and they also had to be requisitioned. I still have twenty years to fight! ”

Recently, the imperial court issued an edict, and the orders were all stiff and martial arts, to bring peace and prosperity, where did Jin Fu think that Kangxi had so many plans to fight? He glanced at Kangxi in amazement, and said with a smile: "The saint bows to the foresight, and the ministers can know." However, the river work consumes a lot and the effect is late, and the credit is small but the slander is fast. The Lord knows that it is difficult to do without silver. ”

Kangxi smiled slyly, "I've already calculated it for you." Nowadays, 2.5 million yuan is allocated every year, which is already difficult for the household department. The military forces of the 'three feudatories' were completely pacified, and then increased to 300 to 3.5 million troops, which was probably enough. Only you just said that the opening of the middle river, how much is needed, and the time will be allocated to the ...... Haha, an honest person like you will also come to fight with me! ”

When Jin Fu heard this, he felt a lot more relaxed. Although 2.5 million is a little less, it can also do a lot of things. He smiled silently, and when he was about to play again, he saw Suo Etu come in, bowed down and smiled: "It's time, please give the master a banquet." As he spoke, he stared at Jin Fu and saw a chill in Jin Fu's heart.

Kangxi got up with a smile and said to Jin Fu: "That's it!" You played very well, you don't have to hand over the sign to come in, just go to work. I don't have much to say, after I go back, I will hand over an excerpt every half month, and play the river work situation in detail, pay attention to the talents, and collect a few more from your curtain, and you can also keep it in the future...... I saw one in Kaifeng, but I missed it, but it's a pity that I got up after saying ......."

The Hongru in the Tiren Pavilion had already sat neatly, from south to north in two rows of seats, a total of fifty high tables, and four or five people sat in front of each table. The banquet is set up by Guanglu Temple, the twelve-colored dishes are all raised high with Jun porcelain plates, and the four large sea bowls in the middle are stacked with apples, sleeves, lychees and raisins and other seasonal fruits, and the officials sent by the Ministry of Rites sit and serve wine. This kind of pomp has never been seen for eternity, so before the wine starts, these old people are already full of red light, and they are a little drunk. At this time, people don't care much about whether they can pass this exam, and with the honor of giving a banquet, this is more decent and glamorous than anything else. Even if you don't become an official, the epitaph after death also has the words of the chapter.

"The emperor has an order, there is no need to be formal, and the banquet will be held immediately!"

As soon as the paging sounded, everyone "brushed" and got up together, bowed their hands to thank God, and then sat down to eat vegetables in fear. Some people even secretly pick up what they can bring and stuff it into their clothes and bags so that they can take it out and share it with relatives and friends. When the last dish of rice - steamed buns, rolls, red silk cakes, powder soup, and white rice came up, Kangxi brought the crown prince Yin (礻乃) and the eldest brother Yin (礻is) in. As soon as he stepped through the door, he instructed everyone to eat and drink, not to be formal, and to visit and greet everyone from table to table. Where can the people eat again? One by one, their hearts were beating in a panic.

At the fourth table on the left, Kangxi saw Shi Yushan, the master of the Xuancheng Sect, and said with a smile: "It's been a long time, Mr. Shi!" The last time I saw you in the old pavilion of Fengyi Garden, there were Wang Wan, Song Yushu, Wu Sangui's eldest son Wu Yingxiong, who else is coming-" Kangxi patted his forehead lightly, "Yes, by the way, Wang Shizhen." Now he is the secretary of the criminal department. ”

Shi Yushan didn't expect Kangxi to talk to him alone, so he hurriedly stood up, and said with a red face: "The lord is still slightly obedient that time." It's been six years in a flash, and it seems that Banzai has been reduced a little, but the complexion is much better! ”

"Ha, I'm young, I'm better than you! You are a poor official, guarding Qingjiang Road, and selling all the official ships sent by your friends when you evacuated, right? I remember that you talked about Pu Songling in Shandong that day, he was very talented, how is he now? ”

Kangxi has such a good memory, Shi Yushan secretly admired it in his heart, and said with a smile: "He often writes to him, and he received an article from him yesterday." This person is unlucky, and he has not yet been promoted. ”

"Oh, poetry?" Kangxi couldn't help laughing: "Do you take it?" ”

Shi Yushan was stunned for a moment, hurriedly took out a letter from his boots, and held it with both hands. Kangxi took it and said with a smile: "You must be good with you, I will take it down and see it." As he spoke, he greeted Yin (礻乃). Yin (礻is) was beside him, and hurriedly pointed his finger and said, "Amma, the prince is over there." ”

When Kangxi watched it, he almost laughed. On a table in the far corner of the north, the crown prince knelt on one knee on a chair, tore the flesh with his small hands, and put it into a bowl. It turned out that when Kangxi came in, more than 200 people stopped chopsticks, but this person was the only one who was sitting in danger and eating calmly, which aroused the curiosity of the crown prince. Kangxi glanced back at Suo Etu, and Mingzhu hurriedly approached and said, "This person's name is Tang Bin." Kangxi hurriedly walked over and stopped the prince: "Don't be mischievous, didn't Chenda teach you?" ”

Tang Bin left the table and said with a smile: "This is because the prince loves me." The king has a gift, and the minister does not dare to resign. ”

Kangxi looked Tang Bin up and down and said, "I've heard your name for a long time." As an official in Jiangnan, aren't you the one who burned down the Wutong Temple in the territory? It's because the prisoner ran away from the prison, right? ”

"Yes!" Tang Bin replied: "The minister has no record of serving his duties, and the fugitive is not because of lax custody, but because the minister was released from prison. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"When he returned to the Lord, he was not guilty of a serious crime, but was sued by the landlord because of his rent arrears. There is a seventy-year-old blind father in his family, and there are six-year-old children, and one person is detained and three people die, which is intolerable. In line with the emperor's teachings of governing the world with benevolence and filial piety and benevolence to the king, the minister was bold and presumptuous! ”

Kangxi couldn't help but be silent when he heard it, the national law is not in line with reason, how can there be more than one such case? But Tang Bin was willing to take the sin of losing Qi and stood up for righteousness, which is commendable. Thinking about it, I couldn't help but move in my heart, if I handed over the prince to such a person for counseling, I was afraid that I would not be able to teach the prince of benevolence and filial piety? Although Xiong Ci's shoes are good, he is just too busy, and it is rare to have a clone! After thinking about it for a long time, Kangxi smiled heartily and said, "If you talk about this matter, you are too Meng Lang." If the sentence is lightly punished for three days and the boss is prevaricated, wouldn't it be both? I heard that when you were dismissed, the city boycotted the city for three days, and collected money and sent it back. I know everything, so do it yourself! With that, he took the crown prince and the eldest brother, smiled and nodded to the Confucian scholars, and walked out of the Tiren Pavilion.

As soon as he went out, he saw Gao Shiqi coming lazily from the Zhaode Gate, Kangxi stood up and asked with a smile: "You slave, where have you got, you are not waiting in front of me for such a big matter today!" ”

Gao Shiqi saw that the crown prince was also by Kangxi's side, so he hurriedly kowtowed to Kangxi, and asked the prince and his brother to say goodbye, and said with a smile: "How did the master forget, I said that I would give the slave a day off today!" Early in the morning, Lao He Guizhu invited the slaves to go. When his woman was gone, he begged the slave to order the master of God and write a sacrificial text. The slave coped with it, thinking about the master's side, where is the mood! I hurriedly rushed back......" Kangxi saw that he was holding a silk silk silk full of knots in his hand, reached out to come over, looked at it and asked, "What is this?" ”

"Alas......" Gao Shiqi sighed: "This is given to him by his woman Gu Azuo on her deathbed, saying that if someone can solve it, her soul will be able to ascend to heaven." Lao He can't help it, saying that the slave is prosperous, and the slave is thinking all the way, this knot is really porcelain, and there is no way! ”

Kangxi walked all the way, carefully looking at the knots all the way, there were seven in total, as if they had been dipped in water, beaten and soaked in oil, all of them were chicken heart-shaped, red like a string of blood beads. When I tried to solve it, it didn't work at all, so I returned Gao Shiqi. smiled: "This Azo is also weird, and he has a problem for a man when he is dying-"

Kangxi said, somehow suddenly remembered the late queen Hesheri, looked back at her orphan Yinchu, jumped up and down behind him, really "between pitching, has been Chen Ji......" thinking, his nose was sore, and he almost burst into tears.