On February 29 of the first year of Jingtai, the halls of the guilds in various parts of Beijing were already full of scholars waiting for the distribution of the apricot list.

As long as you can name the apricot list, it means that you have the title of Gongshi and will participate in the next palace examination.

The palace examination does not involve falling elimination, which means that as long as you are on the apricot list, the worst result is also a top three with the Jinshi background, which completely completes the class identity leap from the people to the official.

Compared with other scholars who were full of anticipation and thinking about the future career development, He Wendao and several acquaintances discussed how Shen Yichen would solve the food shortage in the northern region of the Ming Dynasty after the examination was completely over.

Now that spring ploughing has arrived, many farmers who have eaten their grain to survive the famine have no way to continue farming. They can only borrow all kinds of loans, mortgage their family property and even their children to the gentry and landlords, and make the last struggle.

But the problem is that even if a once-in-a-century harvest can be achieved in autumn, the profits of the loan money will roll down, and it will be a bottomless pit that cannot be repaid.

From the moment they made the note, they fell into the trap of the gentry and landlords, and from then on they were slaves and maids!

Coincidentally, like-minded people may have a natural attraction, and He Wendao's plea for the people on the square of Shuntian Gongyuan attracted a group of literati who cherished their family and country to follow, including Peng Shi and Yue Zheng and other talented people.

"Brother He, in recent days, the Jingshi Grain Market has released news that Shen Ge Lao has used the power of the Chengguo Mansion to release grain at a low price. However, judging from the results, it has not changed the overall situation of soaring grain prices, and even the released grain has been purchased at high prices. ”

Peng Shi looked worried at the moment, he was the oldest of the several, and now he was past his prime.

Shen Ge Lao obviously underestimated the strength of the Jingshi to manipulate the grain price camp, and wanted to rely on the surplus grain of the Chengguo Mansion to suppress the grain price, which was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean. The grain could not reach the hands of ordinary people at all, so it was bought at a high price, and it did not make any waves in the market at all.

If it goes on like this, I'm afraid that with Shen Ge Lao's ability, he will be helpless.

"Brother He, why don't you come to visit the elder of the Shen Pavilion and inquire about the current food price situation?"

Yue Zheng, who was sitting on the other side, also urged He Wendao with some anxiety. According to Shen Yichen's ability to turn the tide in the past, he should not only use such a simple means to curb food prices, and there must be something wrong with it.

"During the examination, I can't visit Shen Ge Lao privately, otherwise it will damage his reputation."

He Wendao shook his head and refused, even though he was also anxious in his heart, wanting to give Shen Yichen advice.

But if you come to the door at this time, you will be caught by people and gossip, in case you are still among the best in the apricot list, it will become an unjustifiable "stain". It doesn't matter if he thinks he is upright about this kind of thing, but the old man of Shen Ge will try to be the president of the court, and he must not be implicated.

"It's because I didn't think it through, I really can't visit Shen Ge Lao at this moment."

Yue Zheng also reacted that it was inappropriate to come to visit, and hurriedly apologized.

"Brother Yue, I know that you are eager to serve the country and the people in your heart, but Shen Ge Lao has saved the people from fire and water many times, and I believe he can find a way to deal with it!"

He Wendao has a blind trust in Shen Yichen at this time. Or if even Shen Yichen can't solve the food crisis in this world, then no one can help him, and it's useless to be anxious.

Just when a few people were discussing, the street of the guild hall was already full of people, and the announcer sang the ranking of the test in a loud voice, and soon it spread to the position of the leader of the five classics.

"I will try to report the success, congratulations to the old man Yue Zheng of Shuntian Mansion and Miao County, the fifth place in the high school examination, and the saint of the Jinluan Palace!"

Peng Shi sat at the side door, and when he heard the name of Yue Zheng from the mouth of the reporter, he thought that he had heard it wrong for a while, and asked a little uncertainly: "Did you call out Brother Yue's name just now, he seems to be the top five in high school." ”

"Got it?"

Yue Zheng was at a loss at the moment, his focus was all on the price of grain in Jingshi, and he realized that he had become the leader of the Five Classics.

But soon, under the guidance of the scholars of the guild hall, the reporter came to the table of He Wendao, and sang Yue Zheng's nationality and name again, this time it was equivalent to a confirmation!

In an instant, there was a congratulatory voice in the hall, you must know that as long as the palace test performance is normal, there will be at least a guaranteed ranking of the top two, which means that the future is limitless. It's not too late at this time, but when?

It's just that what everyone in the hall didn't expect was that the hustle and bustle hadn't fallen yet, and a reporter outside was singing: "I will try to report the success, congratulations to the master of Xiushui County, Jiaxing Prefecture, He Wendao, the fourth place in the high school examination, the top saint of the Jinluan Palace!" ”

There are two five classics at a table, so that the scholars in the hall can be described as an uproar, although the talented people attract each other, but this probability is too exaggerated, only five people won the championship in three thousand lifts, and as a result, there were two at this table?

But what is really unbelievable is still behind, and a shout came from outside the house again: "I will try to report the success, congratulations to the old man Peng of Anfu County, Luling Prefecture, the first place in the high school examination will be Yuan, and the top saint of the Jinluan Palace!" ”

Huiyuan is also at this table?

Compared with the hustle and bustle, the hall was silent at the moment, and the people present looked at each other.

If I remember correctly, these three people seem to have studied under "Shen Xue", can it be said that in the future, the direction of the imperial examination will be changed to a pragmatic style, and the application of the world will be admired?

In many cases, for the feudal dynasty, the direction of the imperial examination will determine the direction of the scholarly atmosphere, and when the flashy rhetoric occupies the mainstream of admission, then the literati will be exaggerated and empty!

When pragmatism becomes the mainstream of admission, it is natural that scholars will be more down-to-earth and pay attention to the livelihood of their families, countries and people.

That's why, Shen Yichen risked being impeached for favoritism, and resolutely admitted the three "Shen Xue" in the Five Classics. I believe that when the next session of the examination comes in three years, the people who are full of empty talk and righteousness will no longer occupy the mainstream of the imperial examination!

The Jingshi Hall is putting the list here, and Shen Yichen is following the examination process, holding the sub-list of the apricot list into the palace to face the saint, and handing it over to the Ministry of Rites for sealing.

On the carriage to the Forbidden City, Shen Yichen was not the only one sitting, Zhao Hongjie was also in the carriage at the moment, reporting on the changes in the situation after the Jingshi released grain in the past few days.

"To the north, the 30,000 stone rice grain sold by the Chengguo Mansion was sold out within two days. Except for a small number of people who fell into the hands of the people, most of them were snapped up by Han Xing, a slave of Huichang Bo, and others, who gathered a group of ruffians and hooligans. ”

"Do you want Jinyiwei to take action and arrest them all?"

Listening to Zhao Hongjie's suggestion, Shen Yichen replied in a calm tone: "Wouldn't it be a joke to let Jinyiwei take action for this little thing." Since Hui Changbo likes to buy rice and grain, then I will let him buy enough. ”

"From now on, it will be sold at a price that is one penny cheaper than the market price, I would like to see how much capital they have to buy these three million stone rice grains!"

"If they are not satisfied, there are still nearly two million stone grains in the Jingshi warehouse and the Tongzhou warehouse, and the official can sell them together!"

The annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty is only more than 20 million stones, and Shen Yichen now controls 5 million stones in his hands. According to the current grain price in the north, which has broken through two taels and one stone, Hui Changbo wants to take out tens of millions of taels of silver if he wants to take care of the whole situation.

Shen Yichen can say without exaggeration, not to mention that Huichangbo can't take it out, even the Daming treasury doesn't have 10 million taels of silver at the moment, unless it is to hollow out the royal family's internal funds.

The three million stone rice grains that Xu Fengyuan transported from the south alone were actually enough to resolve the food crisis in the north, and the reason why Shen Yichen used the name of the Chengguo Mansion to sell it on a small scale was to attract Hui Changbo and others to take the bait, so that they thought they could eat it all.

The rice and grain bought for three dollars were sold to Hui Changbo and others in two taels, and there was a huge profit of 600 percent excluding transportation costs. When they couldn't eat it, it was when the price of grain in Beijing plummeted, and this time Shen Yichen not only had to save the food shortage, but also had to harvest a wave of "black-hearted wealth".

After all, Jingyuanbo Wang Ji led the Southern Expeditionary Army to quell the rebellion in Luchuan, which required a huge amount of military spending, so it was considered that Changbo and others had "donated" a sum for the country.

Of course, in the name of Shen Yichen!

"Five million stones, enough to kill Hui Changbo."

Zhao Hongjie instantly comprehended Shen Yichen's methods, and a sly smile appeared on his face.

This is called a force to reduce ten meetings, everyone knows that the root cause of the inability to solve the problem of Jingshi's grain price is the lack of grain, but no one could have imagined that Shen Yichen could raise five million stone rice grain in a short period of time, and it will be shocking to be exposed in the future!

From the moment Xu Fengyuan transported the rice and grain from the south to the Dagu Haiphong Pass, there was no suspense about the outcome of the Jingshi grain war, and it was nothing more than waiting for the other party to take the bait. Shen Yichen's current focus is not on this, he began to lay out what would happen when the Southern Expeditionary Army was transferred.

"Hongjie, do you know Han Liangan, the commander of Jingwei?"

"Not very familiar, why did you suddenly ask about this?"

Zhao Hongjie is a little unclear, so the commander of Jingwei can't fight with Shen Yichen, and it has nothing to do with the price of Jingshi's grain just now, what big thing is Shen Yichen planning?

"In order to prevent changes in the palace, the people in this position must be controlled."

Shen Yichen had a faint premonition in his heart that when Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji led the Southern Expeditionary Army to leave Beijing, it meant that the current balance of power in the Beijing Division would be broken. Either Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu made a move in advance to give the imperial brother Zhu Qizhen a dignified death.

Either Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen died and made a desperate resistance.

The internal coup d'état of the royal family is to put it bluntly, whoever survives to the end is the winner, unlike the usurpation of the throne by the powerful ministers, who still have to consider the legal system and the will of the people. If you want to ensure that Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu will not reproduce the ending of the Nangong Revolution in history, the premise is to control the soldiers and horses in the Forbidden City.

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The defenders of the imperial city are collectively known as the Shangzhiwei pro-army, and there are a total of seventeen guards and horses. However, over the years, many of the guards have become symbolic ornaments, divided into two main parts.

Inside the Forbidden City is the Tengxiang Four Guards controlled by Guo Jing, the imperial horse supervisor, which is the main force of the Son of Heaven's pro-army, accounting for the majority of the numbers. Outside the Imperial City is the other personal guards under the command of the Jingwei Commander, except for the Jinyi Guard, and there is a serious shortage of various vacancies, which is basically the pretense of patrolling on weekdays.

Guo Jing is an iron-clad Mingying sect, after all, only Zhu Qizhen will accept his black history with a "broad heart". This means that if there is a real change in the palace in the future, Teng Xiang Siwei will definitely not be loyal to Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu, so the only soldiers and horses that can fight urgently are the peripheral pro-army under the control of the Jingwei commander.

No matter how serious the shortage of vacancies is, at least there are still tens of thousands of people, as long as it can be stabilized for a while so that the emperor has a chance to come forward, the army of the Son of Heaven is not something that a eunuch can completely control.

"To the north, will it really come this far?"

Zhao Hongjie looked a little puzzled, the Emperor Taishang had completed the process of three resignations and three concessions, and when the throne had been determined, the success rate of the restoration was not high, so why do this kind of thing.

"It is indispensable to guard against others."

Now that history has completely changed, Shen Yichen honestly doesn't know if Zhu Qizhen will come to the point of raising troops to restore.

But many things are not afraid of 10,000, just in case. If Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu had any accidents, it would really be called the number of days that were destined, and Shen Yichen would not be able to change his life again no matter what.

"Han Liangan, I'm not familiar with it, but I know that there is someone who will definitely be able to get in touch."

"Who?"

"Eldest Prince Zhu Yi."

"What do you mean by that?"

Shen Yichen asked rhetorically, he really didn't know that Zhu Yi had such a relationship.

"Han Liangan was a subordinate of Chengguo Gong before he was promoted to the commander of Jingwei, and he also fought on the border with the eldest prince Zhu Yi, and the two had a great relationship."

"Now that the grandfather no longer cares about the government, if the eldest prince Zhu Yi is willing to come forward, the effect is much stronger than if you rashly submit the worship post, and there is a high probability that he can be moved to be loyal to the current saint."

"I see."

Shen Yichen nodded, he also had a flash of thought from Zhao Hongjie's recommendation.

Didn't Zhu Yi think about reinstating the knighthood and carrying the plaque of the Chengguo Mansion?

The rivalry between the two emperors is a political crisis, and it is also an opportunity for "careerists", and if you want to break the inherent prejudice of Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu against the old lords, there is no better way to vote for your name than to stand in line with allegiance.

Now Shen Yichen gradually understands why Xiaoxiong prefers troubled times, and even in a sense, if there is no change in the civil fort, Shen Yichen wants to control the military power and enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister, I am afraid it will not be so fast.

The change of the palace may be the next springboard.

The carriage soon drove to the front of the palace gate, Zhao Hongjie got out of the car first, looked around and left alone in a low-key manner. Although the past of the two Ying Tianfu classmates back then couldn't hide the deep digging of people with intentions, there are some things in the officialdom that should avoid suspicion or pretend.

As for Shen Yichen, he then got out of the carriage and tidied up his official uniform, and then strode towards the Forbidden City.