In the Song Dynasty, there was a eunuch institution called the Imperial Medicine Academy, which specialized in collecting medicinal herbs and prescriptions and serving the emperor's daily meals.

Gradually, the emperor's daily clothing was also responsible for them.

Then he participated in the palace examination, was responsible for printing the examination papers, was responsible for sealing the examination papers, announced the palace examination regulations, participated in the whole process of the palace examination, and assisted in the preparation of the Jinshi Jiadi.

The eunuchs of the Imperial Medicine Academy had power in politics, diplomacy, economics, military, imperial examinations, and were often even responsible for drafting the emperor's decrees.

This department, very similar to the celebrant supervisor of the Ming Dynasty, was a tool for the emperor to compete for power with civil officials!

There have also been some fierce people, such as Li Xian, the coach of the Xihe Kaibian, who was born as a eunuch in the Imperial Medicine Academy.

By the time of Song Huizong, although the scale of the Imperial Medicine Institute was large, it was difficult to meet the needs of the emperor. The Imperial Medicine Institute was reformed in the second year of Xining, and a superior unit was changed, and the emperor's clothing was handed over to the Shangyi Bureau.

Now it is being reformed again, and the power of the Shang Pharmacy and the Imperial Pharmacy is separated, and the Imperial Pharmacy is no longer dominant.

During the reform, Yang Qiu, a eunuch who often imitated the emperor's handwriting and illegally promulgated the edicts...... Nowhere to be found.

In the past two years, Song Huizong finally realized that something was wrong, and while dividing Cai Jing's henchmen, he was also dividing the increasingly arrogant eunuch group.

This year's scientific examination scholars are simply unlucky, so don't worry about cheating too hard in the palace exam.

Because, Shang Pharmacy and Imperial Pharmacy have just been decentralized. The eunuchs were busy tearing each other down, staring at each other, no one dared to leak questions when printing test papers, and no one dared to collude with the marking officer when sealing test papers.

……

Six hundred and seventy-one tributes came early to wait outside the Jiying Palace.

The black light was blinding, and Zhu Ming stood for a while, so sleepy that he yawned.

Suddenly, the guards seemed to be shouting something.

The front row of tribute fish penetrated inside, and Zhu Ming, who was standing at the end, followed everyone inside.

The seats in the palace test were randomly disrupted, and Zhu Ming found his seat, which was at the back of the east of the hall.

The sky was faintly bright, the emperor ascended to the palace, and the ceremonial music played.

All the scholars congratulated.

Zhu Ming was too far away from Song Huizong to see what this product looked like.

Immediately afterwards, the eunuch distributed the test papers.

The palace test volume, engraving printing, the title has more than 500 words.

When the candidates got the test papers, they were instantly stunned, and this year they actually took the "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed"!

Obviously, this is an exam question personally issued by Song Huizong, and it has nothing to do with the official of the Ministry of Rites.

The next palace exam is also outrageous, and the test is the "Yellow Emperor's Neijing", about the content of five luck and six qi. That is, the theory of luck, which led to an upsurge of research on luck in the late Northern Song Dynasty.

Bai Chongyan looked left and right, he hadn't read "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed".

Qin Hui's head is also as big as a bucket, how should he answer the question?

This is not the first time this has happened, although it is uncommon.

Zhao Guangyi once personally wrote the question, and the candidates were "appalled at each other" and "did not dare to put down their pen". Even the champions and the top players can't figure out the source of the test questions, and they are among the best purely by virtue of their literary style and blindness.

It's already very good, and I also told you that the test questions are from "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed".

The book "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed" mainly talks about tripod vessels, medicines, fire, and Taoism.

No matter how ridiculous Song Huizong was, he didn't dare to directly test the alchemy, but chose a more serious paragraph: the head of the imperial government, Ding Xin's revolution. The tube is micro-dense, and Shububao is opened. It is necessary to be the leader of the road and unify the outline. The elephant moves inside, the good and the evil outside, the five latitudes are wrong, and the time is moving......

There are a total of more than 500 words of exam questions, and Bai Chongyan only understands the first 24 words.

After thinking about it, I wrote about the benefits of changing the law to the imperial government. really made him get half right, no matter what, it was a little bit bit of a touch with the test questions, which was also in line with the political correctness of Cai Jing's change.

In fact, the exam questions not only have alchemy content, but there are even Taoist priests who explain it as a double cultivation of supplementation. It's just that it's very obscure, and people who don't understand Taoism can't understand it at all, and they think that the whole article is talking about the governance of monarchs and ministers.

Zhu Ming had read "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed" before the crossing, and was fooled by Xue Daoguang in various ways, so he had another understanding of this book (the outer Dan method was expounded as the inner Dan method).

While studying the ink and observing, Zhu Ming looked at Song Huizong from a distance.

Do you want to give the emperor a whole essay on the cultivation of the Inner Dan Law?

Forget it, drop it.

Zhu Ming sat there thinking about it, and waited until Song Huizong left, and then he picked up a pen and wrote down the topic: Self-cultivation and Qi family governance policy.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the palace trial strategy was limited to 1,200 words, but it was also allowed to exceed some words.

Zhu Ming was bold enough to promote his "Taoism" school of thought in the palace examination article.

At the beginning, he quoted "Zhou Yi" to tell the truth that the people's daily use is the Tao. Quoting the "Book of Rites" again, he said that it is the same, talking about the commonalities of self-cultivation, family unity and governance.

The method of self-cultivation, the unity of Confucianism and Taoism, and the cultivation of both inside and outside.

He also compared "refining and refining gas, refining gas and transforming gods, refining gods and returning voids, refining voids and combining the way", which was compared to the various steps of Qi family's governance.

Jing is all the people of the world.

Qi is the wealth of all peoples.

God is the operating order of the national court.

To refine the way of harmony is to perfectly integrate the essence and spirit, and to achieve the harmony and unity of the country, wealth and the people.

In the first few hundred words, he caters to Song Huizong's obsession with monasticism. In the last few hundred words, he advised Song Huizong not to exploit too much, otherwise it would destroy the harmony of the spirit and spirit. This is not good for monasticism and health, and it is also bad for governing the country.

In the end, it fully fits the surface and inner meaning of "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed", comparing governing the country to alchemy, and only by having both spirit and spirit can it be completed. If you don't treat the people well, the gold pill you refine will be flawed.

The theory of "Taoism" is mixed in the whole process.

I wrote it until dark, and after repeated revisions, I copied it on a blank answer sheet.

After handing in the papers, the palace people lit lanterns and sent the scholars away.

Everyone didn't dare to make a noise, and when they went out of the palace gate, they chattered.

Qin Hui said distressedly: "How can you take the "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed"? My answer is how kings and ministers govern the country. ”

Bai Chongyan said: "What I wrote was a change. ”

Lin Xun came up: "I also wrote a change, but it is biased towards Chongli retro." ”

Most of the scholars are in pain, who is going to read the Taoist scriptures?

The topic of the palace examination spread, causing the scholars of the world to study "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed" one after another. No one expected that the next time they would take the "Yellow Emperor's Neijing", they would also take a special test for the luck in it.

"What does success write about?" Bai Chongyan asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Self-cultivation and family governance. ”

Everyone discussed it repeatedly, and they were all guessing the emperor's thoughts, and they were still talking when they returned to the inn after going out of the city.

There are also scholars who secretly rejoice.

For example, the three brothers He Su, He Tang, and He Yu from Sichuan, all of them were admitted to the Jinshi this year. And he belongs to the disciples of Shu Studies, and he usually likes to read Buddhist scriptures and Taoist books, and he has studied the "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Deed" rottenly.

He Su in history is the champion of today's department, and later impeached and overthrew Wang Hao and other traitorous ministers, and was also responsible for negotiating with Jin Bing during the Jingkang period.

At first, it was the main battle faction, but gradually it became a war to promote peace.

Because of his belief in Taoism, he also led the "Rokko Divine Soldiers Defending the City" incident. So far, I was sick and rushed to the doctor.

After making a big mistake, He Su and Uncle Zhang led the troops to fight in the streets, and the Jin soldiers agreed to peace talks. The Jin people asked Song Qinzong to go out of the city to negotiate in person, and also asked He Su to go back to pass the word, and then ...... There is no then.

He Su's behavior during the Jingkang period was sometimes correct, sometimes confused, not only to come up with the stupid trick of letting the Liujia divine soldiers participate in the battle, but also to have the courage to organize street battles. went to the Jin Bing camp, although he was scared and weak, he never lost his dignity and tried to reduce the negotiation losses for the Great Song Dynasty.

In the end, he died of hunger strike, and he is a complex character that is difficult to evaluate.

……

The eunuchs of the Shang Medicine Bureau and the Imperial Medicine Institute were hostile to each other and competed with each other, staring at each other's mistakes and omissions at any time.

When the palace examination answer sheet was confused, no one cheated, and there was no collusion with foreign ministers.

This year is the first imperial examination after the decentralization, and they have not yet won or lost.

And the officials of the Ministry of Rites didn't even know what the exam questions were, because after Song Huizong locked the courtyard, he temporarily changed the questions of the palace exam.

The palace examination articles at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty were also to be transcribed as Zhu Juan, and they could not even be recognized without dismantling the name.

There are a total of 10 preliminary examiners, and Guozi Siye Chen Xun is one of them.

After reading Zhu Ming's test paper, Chen Xun had already guessed whose paper it was from the theory of "Taoism" mixed with it, and directly commented: Evil talk, I don't know what to say.

After the preliminary examiners have written their comments, they will be handed over to the re-examiners for review.

After reading Zhu Ming's paper, the examiner Qiang Yuanming gave a completely opposite comment: quick thinking, clear righteousness, miscellaneous advice, and integrity.

Qiang Yuanming is Cai Jing's old buddy and belongs to the veteran figure of the Cai Party.

But now he has jumped out of the five elements, no longer involved in political struggles, and is in peace to be an imperial party, and by the way, he is responsible for the education of the prince.

Since he is an emperor, he naturally knows how to figure out the holy will.

Zhu Ming's article, the first few hundred words are about cultivation, the emperor must like it after reading it, and Qiang Yuanming must give praise. As for the content of the exhortation in the next few hundred words, it is also in line with the political correctness of Confucianism.

There are also real upright ministers, who frowned after reading the article, and couldn't figure out Zhu Ming's position.

In the first half of the paragraph, he talked about self-cultivation, and what kind of refining and refining qi was nonsense, it was obvious that he was a person who was lazy in cultivation, and he was likely to flatter the emperor with Taoism.

In the second half of the article, he talked about governing the country, and he was strictly admonishing the emperor to treat the people well.

Is this person evil?

As a result, these honest examiners rated Zhu Ming's paper as middle and low-class. first refuted his adulteration into Confucianism, and then affirmed Zhu Ming's exhortation.

Finally, the first grade.

The eunuchs of the Shang Pharmacy Bureau and the Imperial Medicine Academy, regardless of the candidates' articles, talked about the general evaluation of Taoism.

Soon quarreled with the ministers, the eunuchs at this time did not have as much power as in the Southern Song Dynasty, so they couldn't quarrel with those civil officials.

In the end, the two sides compromised, and among the top ten, the top nine were according to the wishes of the civil officials, and the tenth place was decided by the eunuchs.

However, the eunuch still has the power to send the scroll!

Ten copies of the scroll were supposed to be given to the emperor, but the eunuchs sent a full sixteen copies. There are three copies of the Shang Medicine Bureau and three copies of the Imperial Medicine Academy, all of which are articles related to cultivation, just to make the emperor happy.

Sixteen volumes were placed in front of Song Huizong, and after listening to two of them carefully, he felt that the speed was too slow, so he simply took them to see for himself.

He Su's answer sheet was subtle and unreveal, and it was written in a brilliant manner that would be liked by the emperor, eunuchs, and civil officials. The undisputed champion volume!

Reading until the thirteenth volume, Song Huizong's eyes lit up: "Refining and refining qi, refining qi and transforming gods, refining gods and returning to emptiness, refining voids and merging the Tao?" This monk Monk also! It is even more rare that Confucianism and Taoism are all connected, quoting scriptures, and he is really a pillar of the country. ”

(End of chapter)