Daming Chongzhen five years, the eighth day of August.

Before dawn, the tributes who rushed to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites to wait for the examination were told that today's palace examination was held on the same day as the ceremony.

The palace examination is that the emperor personally presided over the examination, which is needless to say.

However, this ceremony, that is, the Jinshi after the examination to accept the emperor's summons, commonly known as the 'Golden Palace' ceremony, is generally held two days after the end of the palace examination.

This is equivalent to an honor ceremony, even more glamorous than the temple test itself.

The emperor actually arranged this ceremony after the palace examination, and the meaning of this is self-evident.

Could it be that the emperor has lost interest in Enke this time, and even the ceremony has to be curtailed?

Everyone whispered about the matter, and all kinds of gossip flew around.

Zhang Li did not participate in the 'whispering' of the crowd, but quietly watched one person-

'Ye Tiancheng', who looked a little nervous.

Xu Jingping felt that tension was looking at herself, and couldn't help lowering her head. Don't you dare to look at Zhang Li, and when you will 'blush', won't you be exposed......

At the end of the day, that is, at six or seven o'clock in the morning in later generations, Zhang Li, Xu Jingping and other tribute scholars walked slowly towards the Forbidden City under the leadership of officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Both sides of the street have long been flooded, and the people have gotten up early in the morning and stretched their necks to see the demeanor of the candidates!

Among these candidates, there will be champions, role models, and tanhua today......

'Ye Tiancheng' is in the first place, he is the current science and technology yuan, so he is naturally ranked first.

And Zhang Zhang walked in the middle of the team, and every candidate had a serious expression, after all, he was about to face the most important exam in his life - the palace exam.

Tian'anmen - ah, no, now the Ming Dynasty should be called Chengtianmen - appeared in front of Zhang Li's eyes. Zhang Zhang couldn't help but get a little excited.

I saw seven stone bridges across the Jinshui River in front of Tiananmen Square, which was the same as what I saw when I visited the Forbidden City in later generations.

In the future, you can walk on the bridge at will, but now you can't!

Zhang Li followed the officials led by the Ministry of Rites and walked on the outermost bridge.

Zhang Zhang knows that the middle bridge of these seven bridges is facing the middle gate of Tiananmen Square, which is called the Yulu Bridge.

Zhang Li glanced at it. The middle bridge is the widest, decorated with carved dragons, and it is indeed for the exclusive use of the emperor.

The bridge on both sides of the middle bridge is named 'Wanggong Bridge', which is for the princes of the clan to walk.

The outermost two bridges are called 'grade bridges', which are used by officials above the third grade.

Since it was the Enke Palace Test, the emperor authorized the protégés of the Son of Heaven to walk the outermost 'grade bridge' and enter the palace from the main gate of Chengtianmen, which is really a great grace.

If you are like the champion of the first class in the examination, the eye of the list, and the flower, then when you go out of the Forbidden City today. You can enjoy the treatment of walking the 'Miji Bridge' once......

For a while, the tension couldn't help but be fascinated!

Success or failure, today!

The team for the exam has passed through the Chengtian Gate, and the three major halls of the Forbidden City are met in turn, the Taihe Palace, the Zhonghe Palace, and the Baohe Palace.

And the location of the temple test is the innermost Baohe Temple.

After hurriedly passing through the Taihe Hall and the Zhonghe Hall from the side, the Baohe Hall appeared in front of Zhang Li's eyes.

At this moment, the place was heavily guarded, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites led the candidates through the side door.

The candidates were a little dizzy for a while. However, the tension of visiting the Forbidden City in later generations only glanced at it in a hurry, and then reined in his thoughts.

Zhang Li's eyes noticed Emperor Chongzhen on the dragon chair of the Baohe Palace. The emperor seemed to be in poor spirits, and although he was strong enough to support his waist, he seemed weak.

It is a great crime of disrespect to look directly at the emperor, so Zhang Li can only glance at it in a hurry, and then retract his gaze.

Calm. The tension kept reminding himself repeatedly.

When I took the exam, I was a sleeping fairy in the field; What are you when you take the exam?

Zhang Zhang couldn't help but be happy when he thought of the full plate plan in his heart.

At this moment, the officials of the Ministry of Rites in the Bohol Hall began the roll call.

Roll call is also roll call. If one person is pointed, that person will be listed and the identity will be verified by a special person.

Although it is to verify the body, it is just a general look at the appearance. Obviously, it is impossible to take off your clothes and check anything here, after all, it is in the palace, so Zhang Li is not worried about what 'Ye Tiancheng' will show.

Sure enough, the first one to point was 'Ye Tiancheng', after Xu Jingping came out of the class and promised, the official hurriedly glanced at him and signaled that he had passed the review.

This time, Zhang Li's heart was even more put in his stomach, and after a while, his name was called, and Zhang Zhang also went out of class to be examined in style.

After the roll call ended, Zhang Zhang was led by a small chamberlain to his own small case.

I already knew before I came that candidates for the palace examination were not allowed to bring anything.

Pen, ink, paper, and inkstones were provided by the Ministry of Rites, and soon these things were distributed - a process called 'loose scrolls'.

Zhang Li glanced at the paper, and the test question was sewn into a large yellow paper bag, about the size of a four-carat paper in later generations—about four times the size of the A4 paper that was common in later generations, which was also quite large.

After the loose paper was completed, the officials of the Ministry of Rites took the lead, and after Zhang Zhang followed the other candidates to shout long live, he opened the test questions and began to answer the papers.

Even though I knew the test questions beforehand, I was still a little nervous - if the test questions were wrong, it would be the end of it.

After opening the seal, Zhang Li pulled out the test question with his slightly trembling right hand.

As soon as I looked at the words 'Yirong clothes are determined in the world' on the test paper, Zhang Zhang breathed a sigh of relief!

That's right, that's it!

Zhang Zhang wanted to look up at Xu Jingping in the front row, but this was absolutely not good. During the palace examination, the candidate's eyes cannot leave the small area of the case in front of him!

Otherwise, everyone understands......

After the tension polished the ink, he held his breath and began to answer with a pen.

There is no need to think too much about the content of the answer, I have already asked someone to do the answer, and it is tailor-made.

After all, if your own thoughts and opinions are expressed through the special form of Baguwen, it may not be effective after studying for three years or five years.

In ancient times, the biggest restriction of the imperial examination was this stylistic form.

The tension is very slow, and he must write carefully word by word, even more laborious than writing a symbol.

Because there are also requirements for the handwriting of the imperial examination. The answer sheet must be written in 'Taige style' script.

Taige style belongs to the official book style, belongs to the category of regular script, is a square, light swamp, jet black, the size of the Ming Dynasty officialdom book style.

In order to practice the calligraphy of this pavilion, I have to endure a lot of hardships - during this time, I spent more than two hours a day writing this kind of calligraphy.

Although there are a very small number of fraudulent candidates from the Donglin Party in this examination, most of the candidates are still in the examination. There is still a very high level.

When the sound of writing around me reaches the ears of tension, it would be a lie to say that you are not nervous.

After all, whether he can succeed in this bet largely depends on his own speculation about Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts.

However, the most difficult thing to guess in the world is the hearts of the people, let alone the hearts of the emperors......

I don't know how long it took, but the voice of writing gradually weakened, and it was obvious that many candidates had already completed the answer sheets, and Zhang Li's own papers had finally been transcribed.

After a few more moments, the officials of the Ministry of Rites took the answer sheet away. After Zhang Li waited for the candidates to salute, he was taken to the side hall.

Originally, according to the process, the candidates should go back to their homes now, and the results will be announced in two days.

But this time Enke was different, Chongzhen actually wanted to announce the results on the same day.

After coming to the side hall with the other candidates, Zhang Zhang and Xu Jingping glanced at each other, bowed their heads slightly, and waited here.

In this kind of situation, it is impossible to speak.

……。

The answer sheet for the palace examination is first selected by the cabinet ministers. According to the approximate grade, the first, second, and third grades are divided, but the final ranking needs to be determined by the emperor himself.

Inside the Bohol Temple. Some tired Emperor Chongzhen shook up his spirits and began to look at the scrolls.

The title of this palace examination 'Yirong Yi Tianda' was written by the first assistant Zhou Yanru, which probably means that the king has a batch of battle armor, and the world will be stable......

Chongzhen couldn't help but be a little slandered, Zhou Yanru, Zhou Yanru, your shameless kung fu is really cultivated to the point of perfection-

Jiannu is so noisy. The king will not surrender even if he puts on his armor?

Chongzhen sighed, slandering in his heart, and still recognized Zhou Yanru's whitewashing of the Taiping. After all, the small people are ignorant, and they are still waiting for them to pay taxes!

Now that the state affairs are getting worse, taking such a question can be regarded as inspiring the people, right?

Chongzhen frowned. The first-class examination papers recommended by the cabinet ministers were not well understood by themselves......

Yes, there are really some sentences that I don't understand!

Since he was not the predetermined crown prince, he did not have the opportunity to receive the basic education of the prince since he was a child, but received the education of ordinary princes, and he did not read a lot of books, and his knowledge was 'understood by everyone'.

He can't talk about being proficient in the great principles of imperial studies and statecraft, and after he ascended the throne, he didn't have a well-learned master to teach. Faced with the heavy burden of national affairs, I am afraid that I will not be able to pick it up, and I am even more afraid that others will know that I am not capable of picking it!

Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren, a group of important ministers of the imperial court, all read a stomach full of books, wrote good articles, and were much older than themselves in their early twenties. Compared to them, he is the only one who has not read any books, has not experienced anything, has not dealt with politics, and has not held power.

But I have to pretend! If you don't understand, you must pretend to understand, otherwise you won't lose the face of the Son of Heaven?!

If you can't read the scroll, you can't read it, so you can just follow the order they have drawn up—in this way, won't I seem to be 'heroic' to the ministers who have read poetry and books?

Looking at these obscure volumes, Chongzhen had no interest in continuing to look down, and began to flip down.

Expecting these people to rule the country, it seems that I am going to be disappointed!

Chongzhen's ears began to buzz again, and every time he turned over the scroll, his head immediately made up an image of an official shaking his head and quoting scriptures, like a fly, he only knew buzzing all day long, and he had no idea at all when he encountered things!

Suddenly, Chongzhen's hand that turned the scroll stopped moving, and the whole person began to tremble, and his eyes seemed to see something incredible...... (To be continued......)