The top three, as well as the fourth place, are really a national eye.

Sun Nian, Fifth Chang, Su Li and others had already set the top four names a few months before the start of the trial.

"The re-examination of His Royal Highness has already affirmed the previous major examination, and the widow is just coming to determine the ranking for them again. One of them is called 'Dianyuan'; the other two, because it is inferior to Dianyuan, is 'Ya', and is called 'Yayuan'; and the third is 'Ji Yuan'. At that time, Sun Nian said the name they finally decided, "As for the fourth person, it should be the first of the second class, so it is called Chuanlu, which is the same as the Dahonglu's Xuan, and before and after the inheritance, the fame is also very great." ”

None of the courtiers objected to such an explanation. I just don't know which good boy won this honor?

Sun Nian promised Zheng Li a year ago that if he could get the top three in the first trial, he would naturally be able to replace the old right minister and become the new right minister. Zheng Li is young and promising, and he is also ambitious, of course, he is anxious to get it. Even if he was facing his own father, he wanted to get it.

The little official who reported the good news took the soldiers to Zheng's house to report the news, which made Zheng Youxiang, who had aged a lot in a year, a lot younger. He thought that the Zheng family would definitely be brilliant again from today, and when the time came, father and son would join forces, and there would be a place for his Zheng family to stand in this court.

But he never imagined that his son would want to replace him.

"Xu'er, you have won the first place in the trial, and you are the palace yuan appointed by His Majesty, and the future is immeasurable! In the future, I will go into battle as a father and son soldier, but we must carry forward our Zheng family! ”

"What my father said is very true." Zheng Wei raised a smile and suppressed the guilt in his heart. Aside from these words, he really didn't know what to say. Even if today's father does not doubt that he has taken refuge in His Majesty, when the day comes, he will not go with his father to rob His Majesty of things to the Zheng family, and even if His Majesty gives him the position of right minister, his father will understand that as a son, he has betrayed his father after all. Although from the perspective of the family, it is just the position of the next generation of family members in advance, but for Zheng Youxiang, this is simply a big rebellion. He is not dead yet, his son is about to seize power, will he still have the status of an old guy in the future?

In any case, Zheng Wei did not leak his voice at this time, but quietly hid the worries and shame in his heart. At this time, he was no longer as eager as a year ago to hope that the position of the right minister would be passed on to him, but hoped that Sun Nian would be able to fulfill his promise a year or two later.

Zheng Wei, who thought about it, later really found Sun Nian in Yunxiang Building in private, and asked earnestly, which made Sun Nian almost feel compassion. Sometimes, it's not bad to lose the filial piety of others.

"The original intention of the widow is not to make your father and son resentful. This is not good for your family. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Slow down and thank me." Sun Nian stopped Zheng Wei solemnly and said, "If Zheng Youxiang makes another mistake, then the widow will really fulfill the promise he made to you before, and ask him to tell him to grow old in time and retire for the rest of his life." And you will immediately succeed to the position of right minister. ”

Zheng Yu was silent, thought for a while, and said: "Thanks to Your Majesty's wrong love, if this is the case, the minister must do his best." He thought about it, but still said his last request, "The minister is young and careless, and wants to invite him out of Luoyang to become a county magistrate or county magistrate, and sharpen it, so that he can better share his worries for His Majesty in the future." I wonder what Your Majesty thinks? ”

"So?" Sun Nian raised his eyebrows, got up and stood in front of the window, looked at the traffic downstairs, and suddenly smiled, "You have benevolence, and the widow is very comforting." I hope you really don't forget your original intention. ”

"Your Majesty, please. Keep in mind. ”

The two of them said goodbye.

The next day, Sun Nian summoned the top ten students in the big exam into the conference hall and arranged official positions for them.

Zheng Li served as the county commander of a medium-sized county outside Luoyang. Yayuan Fu Chi went to Yangzhou to serve as a county commander. Ji Yuan Wanxi went to Jingzhou and served as a county commander, while Rong Meng went to Shu and served as a county commander. The other six people also went to not very remote places to become county magistrates. Sun Nian has high hopes for the first trial strategy, so he will not put them in too high a position, nor will he abandon them. His arrangements were also painstaking, hoping that they could make achievements so that they could go back to Luoyang to show those old ministers how correct his Sun Nian's original decision was.

These ten people are not stupid people. When they stood in front of Sun Nian, they knew that they had been branded with Sun Nian's mark in this life, and only by doing things for Sun Nian in their lives would they have good results.

"When you go to office, you should put the people first. It is necessary to keep in mind from time to time that serving as an official will benefit the people. If you do what you do, there will be rewards and punishments for each of you. I hope you don't let the widow down. ”

"The ministers will live up to Your Majesty's expectations!"

"That's what the widow wants to see the most." People's hearts are fickle. When he changed, he said that someone else had changed, but he didn't know where he was going. In the beginning, ambition is great, and after frustration or after seeing the extravagant life, they lose their hearts. Who knows?

After Zheng Li and the others went out, Sun Nian laughed in a low voice, he was full of expectations for himself and the top ten talented people in this first trial. As the saying goes, the more greedy you are for things that are not your own, the poorer you are. I just hope they don't covet what isn't theirs.

Things were originally moving in the direction of Sun Nian's plan, and he also thought that Zheng Li's wish could be fulfilled. But someone died by himself.

This is Zheng Youxiang.

He precipitated for more than half a year, and seeing that Sun Nian didn't do anything to him, the silent old heart began to boil again. He always felt that if he didn't show his wisdom in front of Sun Nian, Sun Nian would completely treat him as an ornament. As an aspiring right minister, where is he allowed to be more idle than the fifth phase of the left?

After such a toss, something happened to the toss.

The reason is that in the two or three months after this trial, the Fifth Chang felt that it was too much to choose these ten people to serve in the court, and to waste those who were slightly inferior in the trial, but still had talent. So, after thinking about it for a few days, I talked to Sun Nian through the climate, and proposed to Sun Nian at a certain court meeting, "Your Majesty, now the first trial has been successfully held." But there are still shortcomings. ”

"Zuo Xiang, please speak." In the court, in front of everyone, Sun Nian always respectfully called the brothers and generals who followed him to fight the world, just like this. The word left is not alienated, but only sincere respect.

The fifth Chang smiled slightly, and said: "There are many talents, it is better to reward them in batches, and divide them into three classes." Judging by merit, the number of people in each class, and after that, those who belong to these three classes are qualified to serve as officials, and can serve His Majesty faithfully in the subordinate counties. Therefore, the minister also seconded the proposal to hold a trial every three years to select meritocracy. ”

"That's a good idea." Sun Nian laughed and asked, "What do you think?" ”

Zheng Youxiang was the first to feel bad. You must know that those who are willing to go to their subordinate counties to be petty officials are definitely not willing to go to the scholars, and their children are not willing to go. In this way, aren't the opportunities given to those poor children? When they come back after a few years, Your Majesty will definitely favor them, how can the children of the Nashi clan still have a foothold in front of Your Majesty?

After thinking about it, Zheng Youxiang was frightened by his own thoughts, and immediately hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, how can this be done?" ”

"Why?" Sun Nian asked impatiently.

"In the poor mountains and remote places, will those students who have gained fame really serve His Majesty? It is difficult to ensure that they feel that no one has to control them, so they will loot the people's fat and people's ointment. In this way, it is contrary to His Majesty's holy wish to benefit the people! In the end, it will harm the people. ”

"The right minister said so earnestly, but what is the proper way?" Sun Nian knew that Zheng Youxiang would stir up trouble, and wanted to see what he wanted to do, so he followed his meaning and asked.

Zheng Youxiang didn't know what Sun Nian was thinking, or even if he knew, he didn't take it to heart. I saw him with a straight face, with a little humility and pride, and said: "Why don't you select some virtuous and kind-hearted people from Luoyang to serve in those places?" After all, in Luoyang, there are their families, and they don't dare to make a mistake. Zheng Youxiang was afraid that Sun Nian would calculate him, so he didn't directly propose that Sun Nian choose someone from the Shi clan.

Sun Nian smiled, and then laughed even more, laughing enough, before he said: "The right minister has been recuperating for half a year, I'm afraid there are some things that I haven't figured out yet." Sun Nian said lightly, "How many people are there in Luoyang?" How can you be outnumbered in the county? Isn't that kidding, right? Speaking of which, Sun Nian didn't want to talk to Youxiang about these endless things, and made up his mind to let Zheng Yu serve for a year and transfer him back, he didn't want to see Zheng Youxiang's face anymore.

Sure enough, at the end of the year, Sun Nian found an excuse and asked Zheng Youxiang to go home again to rest and wait for Zheng Li to come back.

Zheng Youxiang didn't notice anything wrong at first, but when Zheng Yu returned in a hurry and found him saying a few words and entered the palace, he realized that his career was about to come to an end?

The next day, Sun Nian ordered the edict to come, and the Tao was thinking that the right minister was old, and allowed him to say goodbye to old age. In order to remember the merits of the Zheng family, the position of the right minister was given to the palace Yuan Zheng Xu. From next year onwards, he will take office immediately, and there must be no mistakes.

Zheng You looked at his handsome son with joy and sorrow, and said sadly: "Xiao'er, did you know that your father's official position was not guaranteed? ”

Zheng Wei bowed his head and was silent.

Zheng Youxiang thought about it a lot, but in the end he couldn't swallow this breath. At the beginning, he made great contributions to His Majesty's smooth entry into Luoyang, but now he wants to leave him like this?

"No! I want to enter the palace and ask Your Majesty in person why you abandoned me! ”

Zheng Yu couldn't stop it, so Zheng Youxiang broke into the palace directly!