Laughing for a moment, the East Pavilion gradually quieted down, the spring night in Miyagi was silent, the desk was full of fragrant tea, and the fourteen reading officers began to turn the table to read the papers, the so-called turning the table, that is, an examination paper from the chief reading officer began to review, stamped with the first to fifth grade marks and the seal of the reading officer, and then transferred to the next reading officer for review, a volume of fourteen reading officers to review and stamp the grade mark, and finally to the general check, the fourth and fifth grade marks must be listed in the top three.

Zhang Yuan's Wanyan Tingce had to look at it for a while, Fang Congzhe sat on the circle chair and tilted his head back slightly to look at the volume, at first there was a smile on his face, and gradually the smile disappeared, and his expression became serious, this volume alone looked at it for nearly half an hour, after reading it, he pondered for a moment, stamped the grade mark and his own seal, and transferred it to the second assistant Wu Daonan - Wu Daonan saw that Fang Congzhe gave Zhang Yuan the second class, and read the paper quietly, and the other paper readers had already begun to review other examination papers, it was impossible to wait so stupidly, half an hour later, Wu Daonan read Zhang Yuan's court trial strategy, only to feel the ups and downs of his heart, what words to describe it, the Jin lord attacked Wu, and obtained the second Lu, Bingchenke can take a talent like Zhang Yuan, just like Zhang Hua, a powerful minister of the Western Jin Dynasty, said that Sima Yan, the martial emperor of the Jin Dynasty, defeated Wu, but the biggest gain was to get Lu Ji and Lu Yun, the two talents - Liu Chu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, took the Zhang Yuan exam paper transferred by Wu Daonan first, and saw that the two pavilion elders were rated as second class and one as first class, which is a high evaluation, and the evaluation opinions of the two cabinet elders will definitely affect other paper readers, It depends on whether there are more first-class or second-class evaluations, and the first-class ones can enter the top three of the first class, and the second-class ones can also be listed as the top of the second class - the Wenhua Hall is quiet and serene, and the two gold-plated double cranes in the corner of the hall spit out a strange fragrance, and time passes slowly in the rubbing sound of the papers.

…… The reading officer in the East Pavilion is reading the papers behind closed doors, and those scholars in the capital who are on the list have begun to indulge in a drinking carnival, and no matter what the ranking of the palace test is, no matter what the ceremony has not yet participated in, this Jinshi can't run, life must be happy, and the life of the wine is a song, but there are also happy and sad, the oldest scholar in the Chinese style of the current branch is named Zhang Shaojian, sixty-five years old, white beard fluttering, also followed a group of people in the same year to play, the old man chatted about juvenile madness, accidentally fell down, seemed to break the thigh bone, this time is in trouble, How can he participate in the grand ceremony the day after tomorrow?

At noon on the 16th, Zhang Yuan and nine other Chinese-style Han Society colleagues gathered in the Xiangfu Restaurant near the Da Long Fu Temple, ten people in order of age were Wen Zhenmeng, Sun Jike, Huang Zunsu, Xia Qichang, Xu Guanji, Ruan Dacheng, Ni Yuanlu, Hong Chengchou, Zhang Dai, Zhang Yuan, everyone raised their glasses and said joy, and agreed not to forget the purpose of the Han Society, Kuang Fu Ji, show the ambition of life, and leave a good name in history——...... On the afternoon of March 17, the 14 examiners of the East Pavilion completed the evaluation of all 348 examination papers, and finally the two cabinet bosses checked the grades, and at the beginning of the Shen Shi, the third and second class rankings have been arranged, and the first and third class rankings will be determined by the emperor, Zhang Yuan's ten thousand words of Tingce are among the first and third examination papers, and the first assistant of the cabinet, Fang Congzhe, set Zhang Yuan in the second class because he did not want Zhang Yuan to enter the first class, Fang Congzhe was quite worried about Zhang Yuan's "glacial theory" proposed by Zhang Yuan in the third hundred years, thinking that this was similar to the "ice river theory" proposed by Wang Anshi in the Northern Song Dynasty. The mandate of heaven is not enough to fear, the ancestors are not enough to be lawful, and the words of people are not enough to be compassionate", ignoring the warning and admonishment of natural disasters to the world, it is easy to promote the arrogance of the monarch, but the general nuclear fourteen paper readers assessed the mark, Zhang Yuan with eight first-class, six second-class can be ranked third, the result Fang Congzhe is helpless, he also admits that Zhang Yuan's court policy is really excellent - according to the ancestral system, after the reading of the paper is completed, he must kowtow and kneel in front of the emperor, and the cabinet scholars will read the examination papers of the first and third places to the emperor. Then the emperor put pen to the top of the king, the list of eyes and the flowers, but the eunuch Lu Shou has passed on the emperor's dictation, do not see the judges, only send the first three test papers to the imperial review, nearly ten years, not to say the general ministers, even the cabinet ministers have been difficult to see the emperor's face, the second assistant Wu Daonan arrived in August last year, according to the usual emperor is to summon encouragement, but so far has not been summoned - Lu Shou and the other two eunuchs of the ceremonial supervisor are waiting outside the East Pavilion, received three answers from the first class, and immediately rushed to the Hongde Hall of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yijun, the obese Wanli Emperor, wore a red tasseled hosta black gauze hat and a dark blue embroidered dragon robe, leaning on the dragon chair, stepping on a square wooden pier with his left foot, and a palace man kneeling on the side of the square wooden pier to rub the emperor's feet - "Long live the lord, the scrolls of the first three people selected by the scroll reader have been delivered, when will the slave and maid read it to the long live lord?" The celebrant took the seal and the eunuch Lu Shou knelt down.

The fifty-four-year-old Emperor Wanli's face was pale and a little puffy, and his face was white and wide, and he said, "First report the names of the three people." ”

Lu Shoudao: "Long live Lord, according to the rules, you have to set the ranking first and then dismantle the number-"

"Rules, rules, all are rules!"

Emperor Wanli suddenly became angry: "Could it be that I will also make a case of fraud in the imperial examination, who is not my courtier!" ”

"Yes, yes, the slave will be dismantled."

Lu was taken aback, hurriedly opened the seal, and then said: "Long live the lord, these three people are Wen Zhenmeng of Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili, Qian Shisheng, Jiashan County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and Zhang Yuan, Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. ”

"Oh, Zhang Yuan has also entered the first class, this person is really talented and learned, real gold is not afraid of fire refining, let's read his palace test countermeasures first, and see what good methods he has for disaster relief and famine."

Emperor Wanli moved his hips slightly, allowing himself to sit more comfortably, ready to listen to the text.

Lu Shou flipped through the test paper and said in surprise: "Long live Lord, Zhang Yuan's paper is full of twelve sheets, I'm afraid there are more than 10,000 words." ”

"Write so long!" Emperor Wanli was also a little surprised, and muttered, "Read it." ”

Lu Shou began to clear his throat, there was phlegm in his throat, Emperor Wanli was impatient, and said: "Let's read it differently, Lu Shou, you are old, if you read these ten thousand words, I am afraid that someone will help you go back to the celebrant eunuch." ”

"Long live the slaves." Lu Shou smiled awkwardly and asked the eunuch behind him to come forward and read Zhang Yuan's strategy.

The eunuch's voice was neither light nor heavy, and the official words were pure, and he read: "The minister to the minister: the rule of the emperors in ancient times is nothing more than raising the people......

Emperor Wanli squinted and listened, hearing the words "taxes are increased, forced labor is heavy, and the people's lives are unbearable", he couldn't help but be displeased, but this is not the first time he has heard these words, and the officials are much more fierce than this, and even scolding him for his wine and wealth, and the lack of money, so he will not be angry, and continue to listen - land annexation, strong and lawless, clan occupation of land, natural disasters [***], these sharp questions were raised one by one, and Emperor Wanli's face became more and more uncertain, but Zhang Yuan did not just ask questions and blindly blame, There are corresponding strategies to solve the problem, which makes Emperor Wanli nod secretly, although he is in the deep palace, but he has seen or heard of the important notes of the foreign ministers, and he also knows that the great tomorrow is not so beautiful under the rule of Yao Shun, and there are many disadvantages - when he heard Zhang Yuan's "Binghe Theory", Emperor Wanli couldn't help but sit up straight, signaled the eunuch Bingbi not to read it for the time being, and said to Lu Shou and others: "This Zhang Yuan is knowledgeable, but it is ridiculous that those rotten Confucians in the outer court blame the disaster on my head, and as soon as there is a natural disaster, I will go up to the province to repair it." It is unreasonable to think that it is the loss of virtue that leads to natural disasters! "In the thirteenth year of Wanli, the Gyeonggi drought, the Wanli Emperor also walked more than ten miles from the palace to the Temple of Heaven to pray for rain, very pious, but now, he no longer believes in that, his heart is full of frustration and disappointment, who can believe that a supreme emperor will have this mentality.

Lu Shou said in accordance with the emperor's meaning: "Xunzi once said, the way of heaven is constant, not for Yao, not for Yao, not for the death, Yaoshi still has ten years of floods, this is why there is Dayu to control the water, natural disasters are fixed, how can you complain about the long live Lord." ”

Emperor Wanli was in a much better mood, let the eunuch continue to read, although Zhang Yuan's policy was full of words, but there were no empty clichés, the words were sincere, the analysis was thorough, and the heart of loyalty to the country was overflowing, and most of the time I listened to it, Emperor Wanli did not feel tired, and then listened to Wen Zhenmeng and Qian Shisheng's strategy, and instructed: "Zhu Bi waits." He stood up from the dragon chair, held the shoulders of a short and stout chamberlain, walked to a red sandalwood imperial case and sat down, looked at the frontispiece of the three papers, and said: "There are actually two Zhejiang people-", and immediately wrote the six Zhu characters "First Class and Third Place" on the frontispiece of Qian Shisheng's test paper...... The sky has been darkened, the eunuch Lu Shou held the imperial pen to the first three people to come to the Huangjimen cabinet, fourteen officials are waiting for the seal, a look has been opened, ask if the emperor ordered to open the seal, what else can the officials do, immediately dismantle all the other volumes, by the first auxiliary Fang Congzhe with a red pen to write the yellow list, the list is framed with two layers of yellow paper, the golden light is bright, so it is also called the gold list, handed over to Shang Bao Si with the emperor's treasure seal on the list, the official of the house immediately began to write a post, the yellow list was awarded to the Ministry of Rites Shangshu Liu Chuxian, Chuanlu post to give Honglu Temple Qing to prepare for the ceremony, everything is in order - Chuanlu is the grand ceremony of the country, only the emperor ascended to the pole, the wedding, longevity, the triumph of the expedition and the Jinshi Dengke will hold the ceremony, and the inner servant will explain that the emperor will come to the Huangji Hall to meet the new branch of Jinshi, which is not the case since the past four sections, the Ministry of Rites and the officials of the Honglu Temple in charge of the ceremony became nervous, and prepared overnight, for fear of making a mistake - early in the morning of March 18, The three hundred and forty-seven scholars of the Bingchen Branch Chinese style (the old Jinshi who broke his leg could not come) gathered in the Guozijian to receive the Jinshi scarf clothes, the robes were red, and there was no complement on the chest, so they immediately changed into them, and the Guozijian priest taught them the relevant etiquette, and then the Guozijian took the carriage, under the escort of the soldiers and horses of the Five Cities, they came to Chengtianmen, and then led by the officials of the Ministry of Rites to the outside of the Emperor's Palace. Zhang Yuan is still ranked fifth according to the ranking of the examination, wearing a black gauze hat, wearing a big red robe, energetic, jubilant, three moments, Honglu Temple Qing asked the emperor to ascend to the palace, but listen to the sound of Shao music, the guide and the driver, the Wanli Emperor in the two attendants left and right under the care, and strive to walk out slowly, many officials saw the emperor, couldn't help but tears, many years of not seeing-the emperor ascended, the music stopped, the hall held a salute, after the civil and military officials kowtowed, three hundred and forty-seven new science and technology scholars followed the four salutes, and two deacons carried the case, Liu Chu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, first read out the imperial edict:

"On March 15, the forty-fourth year of Wanli, the tributaries of the world were tested, and the first three people were given the Jinshi and the first, the second and sixty-seven people were given the Jinshi origin, and the third two hundred and seventy-eight people were given the same Jinshi origin."

After the announcement was completed, the official began to roll call, and the military officials and scholars in the hall listened with bated breath, and the official sang: "Zhang Yuan, the first place in the first class——"

Zhang Yuan's body shook slightly, this is the horror of the sudden arrival of great joy, since he was tried to be framed and involved in danger, he is extremely eager for the champion, the first in the palace examination, famous all over the world, this is the glory that scholars who are interested in the imperial examination dream of, who can be indifferent?

"First place, first place, first place, Zhang Yuan——"

The herald officer sang again, and a salute officer came over and said softly: "Zhang Yuan came out of class and knelt down." ”

Zhang Yuan hurriedly walked out of the queue and was about to kneel, but he heard a eunuch in the hall scream: "There is a decree in the saint, Zhang Yuan kneels forward." ”

The salute officer led Zhang Yuan to walk forward more than a dozen steps, and when he was five or six zhang away from the Wanli Emperor on the throne, he knelt down and saluted, and the Wanli Emperor condescendingly looked at the youngest champion since the opening of the Ming Dynasty - the official sang again: "The first and second Wen Zhenmeng." ”

Wen Zhenmeng also walked to Zhang Yuan's side with the praise official and knelt down to the emperor.

The first and third Qian Shisheng also went out of the class to bow down, and the second and third were only called and did not go out of the class to salute, after the third class was sung, Shao music rose again, the new branch of the Jinshi four bowed, stood up, the deacon held the list out of the emperor's extreme left door, the umbrella cover drum music greeted the guide, Zhu Jinshi followed, the yellow list will be hung on the left gate of Chang'an - the drum music, umbrella cover, and instrument of Shuntian Mansion have been waiting outside the left gate of Chang'an for a long time, and Yin Li Changgeng of Shuntian Mansion led the subordinate officials to personally send the new champion to return to the first, which is an honor that only the champion has, An errand officer led a tall horse with snow-white fur and respectfully invited the champion to get on the horse, and said: "Don't worry, the champion is tame, this horse is tame, and it doesn't matter if you have never ridden a horse, there is a villain waiting." ”

Although Zhang Yuan has never ridden a horse, but he has ridden a mule, the spirit of the white mule snow is not inferior to a good horse, immediately pedaled on the big white horse, accompanied by Li Fuyin to the east four archway, along the way the people scrambled to see the champion Lang, praised the young and handsome of the first year of the current branch - Shang Zhou Zuo is also in the imperial palace after the end of the ceremony, the emperor left two pavilion elders to speak, and the rest of the ministers withdrew from the hall, Shang Zhouzuo's joy is not under Zhang Yuan, and the car caught up with the drum music of Shuntianfu, and returned to their own courtyard in the east fourth archway together, The Shang family and several servants of Zhang Yuan have received the good news, and they greeted each other happily in front of the door, firecrackers and gongs and drums, noisy and festive - Jing Wei took Fanghua's hand and stood on the side to avoid firecrackers, and the little girl's eyes were bright and looked at Zhang Yuan, who was riding a big white horse and wearing a big red robe, and the smile on her face was like a hibiscus blooming.

(To be continued)