The sixth day of the third month of the sixth year of Xining is the day when the Ministry of Rites examines people to participate in the palace examination.

The Jiei Hall, located in the southeast of Miyagi, had already been cleaned at this time. Four hundred and eight tables were neatly arranged at the east and west ends of the main hall, leaving only the center of the hall empty for the candidates to bow down to the Son of Heaven after they came in.

In the upper left corner of each table, as in the Ministry of Rites exam, a note with the name and place of origin is pasted to prevent the candidates from being mixed up and losing the dignity of the imperial court.

According to the practice for many years, the seating order of the tribute students in the temple examination is based on their ranking in the ritual examination. The closer you are to the Son of Heaven, the higher this ranking, and the farther away you are, the lower your natural ranking will be.

Li Shunju took the list and checked the names and origins on the table one by one. From the nearest Majesty's Rite Department test name Shao Gang in the east, it has been checked to Murong Wu and Sun Zhong in the southeast and southwest corners of the main hall.

Although Xiao Huangmen had already checked it twice yesterday, and Li Shunju himself had taken it once, Li Shunju had always known that anything could happen in the court of Lu Dao.

Since the newly born healthy prince can die violently the next day, starting from Emperor Renzong, he has only seen a princess in the palace for many years, but the prince who was born can't support any of them; So it's not surprising that everything that was arranged yesterday has changed today. How could he be relieved if he didn't face each other again?

It took half an hour, carrying a lantern, and checking every table, Li Shunju stood at the door of the main hall after the most reluctant, breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded. Everything is ready, everything is ready, just waiting for the Son of Heaven and the candidates to come.

………………

At this time, it is only the beginning of the hour.

The sky was still dark and dreary, and I could still see thousands of stars in the sky. But at this time, Han Gang and all the scholars had already arrived at the Zuoye Gate outside the imperial city.

Today is the last pass, and only if you pass it smoothly can you get the qualification of Jinshi. But the atmosphere in front of Zuoye's door was much more relaxed than in front of the Guozi Prison that day. Everyone knows that as long as you don't do stupid things today, Jinshi has been able to hold it firmly.

The Gongsheng whispered and laughed, waiting for the palace gate to open. But there are also those who are calm and do not talk much to others.

"Most of these people are competing for the top prize." Murong Wu whispered to Han Gang.

Han Gang nodded. Yu Zhong and Shao Gang, who were high in the Ministry of Rites exam, were among these serious scholars.

However, another Gongsheng that Han Gang knew who was ready to compete for the champion did not learn from Shao Gang and Yu Zhong, but squeezed over, "Brother Yukun, it turns out that you have arrived!" ”

A social-style smile appeared on Han Gang's face: "I don't expect Brother Zhiyuan to arrive!" ”

Han Gang knew Ye Tao. The first time I saw him, I was in front of the gate of the National Prison, and he was one of the people who laughed loudly, and they all looked very confident. But at that time, there were fifteen or sixteen of the scholars gathered around Ye Tao, but today only Ye Tao was present alone.

The second time I saw Ye Tao, I was invited to Wang Yan's invitation two days ago, and on the Zhuangyuan Building, Wang Yan personally introduced him to Han Gang, not for anything else, just to let relatives meet each other.

That's the most surprising thing.

Han Gang and Ye Tao are now considered in-laws—albeit with a layer in between—Han Gang and Wang Anshi's daughter are married, and Ye Tao is the brother of Han Gang's father-in-law, that is, the son-in-law that Wang Anguo just recruited two days ago.

Ye Tao's article was well written, but Han Gang didn't like him. It's not because of anything else, but Ye Tao's speech, which has always had a condescending taste, and he is proud of his literary talent. Proud princes, slow princes, this is the real scholar's doing. But arrogant to his head, although Han Gang's strength is not bad, he will not be angry because of this, but it is also a fantasy to let him stick his face to cater to him. It's just that on the surface, his entertainment is still home.

Wang Yan is not a person who is obtuse, and after the banquet the day before yesterday, he asked Han Gang what he thought of Ye Tao.

Han Gang shook his head and replied, "There is no him, it's just that today is a question from Zichi." ”

Zi Chi is a disciple of Confucius, and Fan Xu among the seventy-two sages. In the Analects, he asked Confucius what 'knowing' was, and Confucius' answer was, 'Respect ghosts and gods and stay away'.

My own relatives, it's not good to slap your face, I'll just stay away from you.

Wang Yan first laughed, and then shook his head and sighed, "Actually, Ye Zhiyuan didn't mean to do this, but his personality made it ...... In that case, I won't bring him to see Yukun next time. ”

Han Gang didn't want to deal with Ye Tao, and when he arrived, he saw him in front, but he stayed behind and didn't go up to say hello. But Ye Tao's eyes were sharp, and he somehow saw Han Gang, so he squeezed over, said hello, and said: "The little brother is far away in front, and now I see Brother Yukun, don't blame it!" ”

A sincere smile appeared on Han Gang's face, "Don't dare." Han Gang was also clumsy and didn't see Brother Zhiyuan. ”

The two of them said to each other that it didn't matter, and then exchanged pleasantries such as the weather.

Han Gang suppressed the impatience in his heart, and calmed down to deal with Ye Tao, at this time, several bells rang from the palace, and the palace door finally opened.

The envoy on duty walked out.

There was no need for him to say much, and the candidates immediately lined up according to their ranking. The day before yesterday, the ceremonial officials of the Taichang Rite Courtyard had already taught these four hundred and eight tribute students the etiquette that they had changed when they entered the palace, and no one dared to make a mistake.

Ye Tao hurriedly squeezed back, his ranking in the ritual test was very high, much stronger than Han Gang, who was one hundred and fifty-seventh. Han Gang glanced at his back coldly, stood in his place, and no longer thought about the annoying fly. And Murong Wu had already returned to the back of the most at this time.

Entering the palace from the left door, the candidates were led by the cabinet envoy to the Jiying Palace. There are soldiers from the Fourth Army guarding and watching. There was also a superintendent next to him, and no one dared to make any rude behavior, nor did he dare to look up. Each looked at the road under their feet, stared at the heels of the person in front of them, and walked forward quickly.

All the way to the palace, the palace music echoed from the Jiying Palace. The Son of Heaven has not yet arrived, but the examiners of this subject are already waiting in the palace.

Han Gang, as the only court official among the four hundred and eight, came to the palace for the first time. Although he lowered his eyes and pretended to be polite, he did not forget to look at the surrounding arrangements out of the corner of his eye.

It's just ordinary.

The utensils furnished in the temple, the curtains that adorned it, and the paint and paintings of the beams and pillars were all old. It is simply not as good as the main hall of the big jungle such as Daxiangguo Temple and Kaibao Temple, which have countless donations from good men and women.

is only on scale, which can be regarded as barely making people not underestimate the dignity of the royal family. Although the Jiying Hall is only one of the halls, the scale is ranked in the back, but the width of more than 20 zhang and the depth of more than 10 zhang still make every Gongsheng feel shocked. That is, Han Gang has a high vision and has seen a lot, so he didn't take it to heart.

There are several rows of beams and pillars with several people hugging each other, and in the main hall, the east and west compartments are separated. In the two compartments, there are full of tables. The table cases are all old, similar to those of the Guozijian. And the table is not high, only more than a foot, less than two feet. Candidates were given futons, not maza or pestles.

'It's a kneeling sit!' Han Gang first scolded secretly, and then glad that he was fortunate to be used to it, otherwise he would have made a fool of himself.

Under the supervision of the examiners, four hundred and eight tribute students lined up in the center of the Jiying Hall, and the first three were the top three in the Ministry of Rites exam.

After a few net whips, the music stopped. Under the order of the ceremonial officer, all the examiners and candidates, without exception, knelt down and quietly waited for the arrival of the Son of Heaven.

In the silent hall, Han Gang lowered his head and studied the masonry on the floor of the hall as a paving. Although it is a fired brick and stone, it has a dark metallic luster, and it is no wonder that it is rumored that gold bricks are used to pave the floor in the palace.

If it was the Han Dynasty, the hall was paved with floors, and slippers were required to enter the hall. But after the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty had already begun to change. By now, it is possible to walk on the main hall with boots on.

A series of footsteps finally came from ahead.

It's not noisy, it's neat, it rings quietly, and it ends quietly.

Then the ceremonial officer gave orders in a half-chanting and half-singing voice.

Three kneels and nine knocks.

Bow down to the current Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty and the emperor who rules over hundreds of millions of people.

When they worship together, they can look at the characters in the temple. But it was a little far away, and the light was very dim, so I couldn't see what Zhao Ji was like sitting on the imperial couch, but he was standing in front of His Majesty, and a tall voice that did not appear at the beginning made Han Gang very familiar.

It was his father-in-law, Wang Anshi.

It seems that Wang Anshi followed the Son of Heaven to wait behind the palace, and then came out with the Son of Heaven. Not only Wang Anshi, but also two people are also listed. Not surprisingly, it should be Wang Qi and Feng Jing, who are involved in political affairs.

After a series of etiquette that had been taught by the official beforehand, the candidates were finally able to take their seats. Under the guidance of the attendants, the kung fu of a cup of tea has already been put in place.

Then the questions for this exam came out.

'The ancient king, seek the virtuous and listen to it, choose the good and make it. The law is not enough to be practiced, it is just to be changed; People are not enough and have understanding, but they are just doing it...... To keep the position is safe, to manage the wealth is rich, to prohibit the listening, to punish the crime is to obey, to hand over the ghosts and gods to feast, since the barbarian is qualified, the above rule is the sun, the moon and the stars have their order, and the following rule is the birds, beasts, plants and trees have their nature...... I sleep at night, my heart is a few things, and I don't know why this is the way. Doctor Zi has heard what he has heard, and he is my words...... I have been on the throne for seven years, and the loss of righteous government has been added to the world. The past may not be saved, but the future can still be saved. What you see is not hidden. ’

Sure enough, don't look at the hundreds of words of the exam questions personally issued by the emperor this time, which is essentially one sentence: local administrative failures can be spoken out boldly.

That's the question.