When the people were sent away, the post house was empty, and all the tributes had already entered, and when it was close to dusk, another person came.

This time, he came with a soldier, and the officials and the Ministry of Rites sent people.

But it is a preparation before facing the saint.

After the tribute test, in fact, the "official status" of the tribute has been transferred to the official department, which is the personal resume, including the nationality of the province, county, and township, the title of the grandfather of the three generations, the number of people in the family, and the results of previous scientific examinations.

In the future, it will also be added, what position he has appointed, what he has done during his tenure, and how is the evaluation of the annual assessment of the officials.

These are the first basis for the selection of officials by the state, and they will be sealed and stored in the Ministry of Officials, which is not trivial.

But this time, it was the first time to inspect the saints, roll call one by one, and then go in, fill in the information, and further verify.

Seeing that the sun was setting in the west, dyed red for a long time, he called Li Rui.

Fang Xin entered calmly, and saw that the seat was a Zhengwupin official, so he didn't dare to slack off at the moment, and stepped forward to bow down: "The student is from Jiangfu Gongshi Li Rui, to meet the adult." ”

Kneeling on the ground, but did not immediately hear the sound of "please get up", Fang Xin only felt that in this small lobby, there were several sharp eyes, looking straight over, several piercing into the skin.

After a while, someone was a little strange, after all, this was not in accordance with the rules, and after a while, I heard it say: "You are Li Rui?" ”

"It's the students!" Fang Xin knelt on the ground and said, of course he couldn't get up because he didn't shout.

After another minute, I heard the words say, "Get up!" ”

"Thank you, sir!" Fang Xin got up. I saw an official, this official is actually very young, about twenty-five years old, with a calm demeanor, elegant and melancholy, but he is already a positive fifth grade.

And among the rest of the armor retinue. Fang Xin could feel that a strong inner breath was flowing. In this mere team, there were actually three of them who were in the third order, and two of them were in the fourth order, and that was the young official. It is also at the third order.

"Li Rui from Jiangfu. I've heard of you for a long time, eighteen-year-old Zhonggongshi, hehe, although it is not the youngest place since the founding of this dynasty, it is also rare, and you are the first in the second list, tomorrow's palace, you must not lose your manners. Lin Lei: "That official at this time. But he didn't say much, just pursed his lips and smiled.

This "long-term news" is really terrifying, and Fang Confidence is sinking, but he is only a traverser after all. There is no great fear. The current sound should be.

Below, it's normal. It was re-reported as usual, and it was passed, and the next tribute went forward.

After all the tributes were registered, it was a rehearsal to see the holy ceremony, in the center of a hall, put a golden scroll, sixty tributes came forward, according to the etiquette to bow down, before and after several times, the tributes also taught themselves, rehearsed a few times, the official said: "That's it, the new tribute, there is nothing wrong with it, and there is a singer in the court, you wait according to what the singer does, tomorrow will be early, you will rest early!" ”

After saying that, he signaled that it was over, and the tribute thanked him and sent him out.

When it was sent to the official, all the tributes deeply understood that they would face the saint tomorrow - the lord of hundreds of millions of people in these thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, and their expressions were uncertain.

Fang Xin ignored it, had some dinner, and went back to the room.

"Brother Xian?" Zheng Chengyi seemed to want to say something, but Fang Xin didn't stop, but said: "Brother Zheng, tomorrow is the morning dynasty, so it's better to rest early." ”

When he entered the room, he really felt that the whole post house was empty, sat down from the bedside, and did not light a candle, the moon outside was full and bright, according to this piece, took off his clothes, and lay on the bed, he keenly heard the nearby voices, and knew that Zheng Chengyi couldn't fall asleep over and over, and he didn't pay attention to it, and fell asleep in a few minutes.

But it was only two o'clock in the morning (four o'clock in the morning), someone knocked on the post house, so the Gongshi got up one by one, some people, even did not sleep well all night, Fang Xin dressed out, sorted out the new clothes, and even ate a little pastry, before he followed, at this time, there were already people from the Ministry of Rites, came to guide the new Gongshi.

The tributes had a carriage, one for five people, and they were driving towards the inner city at the moment.

In fact, at this time, it was still dark, and according to the official law, the people were not allowed to go out at this time, and they could not go out until the end of the day (seven o'clock in the morning), and the officials were naturally not subject to this restriction.

The tributes were also speechless, Fang Xin looked outside, but saw soldiers passing by from time to time on the street, and thought: "In the imperial capital, the Jinwu army patrols every street, and hangs drums, and beats at night to stop pedestrians, so as to prepare for theft and prevent chaos—it's really true!" ”

On the way, I even saw that some of the mansions were already lit up, and sometimes there were servants leading the way, carrying lanterns, while the wagons of the Gongshi went straight without avoiding them—a once-in-a-lifetime privilege for the new Gongshi.

Outside the gate of the inner city palace, the Ministry of Rites ordered all the tributes to get off the bus, and there was also the imperial history to come to the whole team, in the order of the top three, one by one, not to make noise.

At this time, it is the darkest time before dawn, in the forbidden palace, except for those above the third grade, no lamps are allowed, the reason is to eliminate the fire, of course, the new tribute team, also allowed to nod, but only one lamp in front, the back of the tribute had to follow the people in front, ten meters away can not see the road and people clearly.

Before arriving at the Taiji Hall (Shang Dynasty), the sixty tributes were waiting outside, and they had to have a will to enter.

At this time, the genius slowly brightened, and the morning light appeared in the east, and a large number of officials, according to their ranks, stood on the steps, and the guards were lined up on the steps, holding long swords, solemn and majestic.

Suddenly, a Jingyang bell rang, and the sound of thin drums was heard in the distance, and everyone was silent, and there was no longer any sound.

Fang Xin also lowered his head and waited, and after a while, there was a voice inside: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" ”

With this voice, all the officials waiting outside knelt on the ground and bowed three times and nine times: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" ”

After three prostrations, the officials and the tributes are allowed to get up.

It didn't take much time for a person to pass the decree out: "Xuanxin Tribute Scholar enters the palace!" ”

This sound was heard, and it immediately reached the location of the tributes, so the officials of the imperial history and the Ministry of Rites guided, and the sixty tributes stepped forward and walked in, Fang Xin walked upright, but saw that some of the tributes were pale, and in this golden autumn and August (lunar calendar), there was even a cold sweat oozing.

The Taihe Hall is very wide, and as soon as I entered, I stood according to the arrangement, and someone sang: "The new tribute priest salutes, worship!" ”

So everyone didn't see what the emperor was, so they had to kneel down again to bow and bow, and then they bowed three times and nine times, only to hear a calm voice from above: "All the secretaries are the pillars of the country, and in the future, the country will govern the people and the country, and they will all wait for you to know the holy way, and they will show what they have learned, and they will live up to the meaning of my personal test." ”

After a pause, he said, "Flat, sit down for the test!" ”

"Long live thanks!" Sixty tributes thanked him, and then got up, only to find that the hall full of spirit turtles, incense tripods, cranes, and rui beasts were all bubbling with incense and mist, and the civil and military officials were all hidden in them.

At this time, I found out that there were small cases in the hall, neatly arranged, and they were seated one by one according to the rank and name.

And the emperor also wrote the topic himself, wrote a question at will, and sent it like this, the time exam is an hour, and the civil and military officials, except for the prime minister, have a seat, and the others can only stand and wait, fortunately, it is only once every three years, which is not too hard.

Fang Xin looked at it intently, thinking slightly, and did not write immediately, which was in contrast to many people who hurriedly sharpened the ink, and the emperor was on it, condescending, and saw it clearly.

This topic is actually current politics and does not involve insincerity.

Although the state selects talents, it is not for the sake of getting a group of useless bureaucrats and literati, although out of brainwashing considerations, and because there is no other way, so the examination is the Confucian classics, but in the palace examination, it is the policy theory of the time, which depends on whether this group of tributes has actual political ability - at least you know how to speak, not ignorance.

Moreover, this kind of on-site exam, you can also see how your calligraphy is, however, for the other party's letter, this is easier than writing an article, and the later generations will go deep into the administrative management, that is, take a little out, it is enough, of course, Fang Xin will not be stupid enough to write anything "ahead" in front of the king, considering the reality of Da Chu now, and also say some common sense, so a little more concentrating, grinding the ink, the action is meticulous, calm as water, and then the pen is like a god, a stroke of the hand, a moment of time, it is completed.

After he finished, he didn't make any moves, bowed his head respectfully, didn't say anything and didn't move, this is in the temple!

But even so, when he was able to face the saint for the first time, he could still be as calm as water, and there were a few people who were calm, and suddenly all the people present noticed him.

In fact, this kind of strategy is very short, one article is only three or four hundred words, plus the tribute is only sixty, so that the emperor can read and choose it in person.

Time passed, and there was not much time, and a ceremonial official stepped forward and said: "When the time comes, the tribute will leave his seat!" ”