At the same time, in the Forbidden City, the celebrant was on duty in the room.

At this time, Feng Bao looked at Lu Fang, who came uninvited, and didn't care about anything else, so he hurriedly put down the brush in his hand and stepped forward to greet him.

"The kid has seen his godfather!"

"Hmm."

Hearing this, Lu Fang replied imperceptibly after looking Feng Bao up and down, and then sat on the main seat by himself.

"Godfather, you drink tea!"

After taking the teacup and taking a sip, I saw Lu Fang put down the teacup in his hand, looked in the direction where Feng Bao was, and asked, "It's your turn to be on duty again tonight?" ”

As soon as Lu Fang's words fell, Feng Bao immediately lowered his head and replied without thinking: "Yes, godfather, the child is the youngest and has the shortest time to join the celebrant supervisor, so it is naturally incumbent on the child to do something like being on duty." ”

Lu Fang was noncommittal about Feng Bao's words, and after pondering for a while, he admonished: "Despite this, you must also pay more attention to your body!" ”

When Lu Fang said this, he paused for a moment, and then added: "Sooner or later, Godfather will step back from this position, and when the time comes, I have to count on you to take over!" ”

When Lu Fang's words fell, I saw Feng Bao's face full of panic, and he replied repeatedly: "Godfather, you are laughing, according to the child, your body is still tough!" ”

After Feng Bao finished speaking, he immediately stepped forward and carefully kneaded Lu Fang's shoulder.

"Godfather, is the strength still appropriate?"

"Hmm."

Seeing that Lu Fang did not raise any objections to this, Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief, and then worked harder to knead Lu Fang's shoulders.

Coldly, Lu Fang suddenly said such a sentence: "Feng Bao, if one day, you inherit the position of godfather, don't forget to take care of Lu Bing's son Lu Yi." ”

When Feng Bao heard this, his pupils contracted suddenly, and his face was full of shock.

It took a long time for Feng Bao to react from this shocking news, and then asked Lu Fang tremblingly: "What are you ......doing?" Godfather, hasn't Jinyiwei always been at odds with Dongchang, why do you ......?"

When Lu Fang heard Feng Bao's words, he slowly opened his eyes and asked with a smile: "Who told you that Jinyiwei and Dongchang don't deal with each other?" ”

"All this is just to avoid suspicion, you remember for me, Jinyiwei and Dongchang are a family, you have me, I have you!"

After learning the news, Feng Bao's face was full of sudden realization, and the things that he couldn't figure out in the past had found the answer at this moment.

Then, I saw Feng Bao forcibly suppress the excitement in his heart, leaned down, and responded in a deep voice: "Thank you godfather for your advice, the child remembers!" ”

And the reason why Feng Bao was so excited was because Lu Fang really cultivated him as an heir.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have told him the secret behind this.

Seeing that Feng Bao listened to his words, a look of relief appeared on Lu Fang's face, nodded his head, and said slowly: "Well, that's good." ”

……

At this moment, from outside the duty room of the celebrant supervisor, there was a rush of footsteps.

After a while, I saw several Dongchang factory guards wearing small pointed hats and brown clothes entering the duty room of the celebrant supervisor.

After the Dongchang factory guards entered the duty room, they knelt down on one knee, looked in the direction where Lu Fang was, and said in a deep voice: "Father-in-law Lu! ”

When Lu Fang heard this, he glanced over the bodies of the Dongchang factory guards, nodded, and commanded: "If there is any news, say it!" ”

When the leading Dongchang factory guard heard this, he immediately looked embarrassed and looked at Feng Bao beside Lu Fang.

Seeing this, Feng Bao lowered his head at the right time, arched his hand to Lu Fang, and said respectfully: "Godfather, the child suddenly remembered that there are still things to deal with, so he will take the first step!" ”

After Feng Bao finished speaking, he was about to step away, but before he could take a few steps, he was stopped by Lu Fang.

"Stop, who let you go!"

"Yes...... But godfather ......"

Lu Fang took in the expression on Feng Bao's face, shook his head, and said angrily: "Let you stay, what so much nonsense!" ”

After Lu Fang finished speaking, he looked at the leading Dongchang factory guard, waved his hand, and commanded: "Don't shy away, just say anything you want." ”

"Yes, Grandpa Lu!"

After receiving Lu Fang's specific instructions, the leading Dongchang factory guard recounted the situation he had discovered.

"Father-in-law Lu, we are secretly staring at Hu Ge Lao according to what you told before, and not long ago, Hu Ge Lao hurried to Yan's Mansion after receiving a letter from Xiao Ge Lao, and the two discussed in the hall for a while."

"After the discussion was over, Hu Ge Lao said goodbye and left, and then, Imperial Doctor Li of Tai Hospital was secretly invited into the Yan Mansion."

Lu Fang, who was sitting at the top, couldn't help frowning after listening to the report of the Dongchang factory guard, and his fingers tapped on the handle of the chair very rhythmically, making a 'da-da' sound.

"It seems that the previous news about Yan Ge Lao's illness in the DPRK and China is true, and during the day, Yan Ge Lao seems to be holding on."

"On weekdays, Xiao Ge Lao doesn't deal with Hu Zongxian very well, but now, Xiao Ge Lao doesn't care about this, and personally writes a letter to Hu Zongxian, inviting him to Yan Mansion for discussion."

"It can be seen that the situation has reached an extremely serious point."

"Since Yan Ge is sick, what Imperial Physician Li said before is a lie, this thing that doesn't know life and death actually dares to deceive Your Majesty!"

Thinking of this, the expression on Lu Fang's face suddenly became extremely cold, and his breathing became short.

Just when he wanted to send a factory guard to pull Imperial Doctor Li, who dared to bully the king, to the East Factory to clean up, Lu Fang suddenly calmed down.

"No, Imperial Doctor Li is cautious on weekdays, even if he is given ten guts, he will not dare to commit the crime of bullying the king."

"Besides, he is now on the cusp of the storm, if he dares to deceive His Majesty, he will definitely die an ugly death."

"Assuming that what Imperial Physician Li said earlier is true, then there are only two possibilities left, the first possibility is that Imperial Physician Li is not skilled in medicine and has not been able to discover the disease that Yan Ge Lao is suffering from."

As soon as this idea came out, it was vetoed by Lu Fang, because Imperial Physician Li's medical skills could be ranked in the forefront of the entire Imperial Hospital.

"Then there is only the second possibility, when Imperial Physician Li treated Elder Yan Ge before, Elder Yan Ge was not sick, and not long ago, Elder Xiao Ge discovered the disease that Elder Yan Ge was suffering from, and invited Hu Zongxian to come to discuss countermeasures at the same time, and invited Imperial Physician Li to also go for diagnosis and treatment."

"In this way, it makes sense, but then again, what is the disease that Elder Yan Ge is suffering from?"

"Yan Ge didn't cough much today, and it doesn't look like tuberculosis has recurred at all?"

Time passed slowly, I don't know how long it has been, I saw Lu Fang come back to his senses, looked in the direction of the Dongchang factory guard, and commanded: "Okay, there's nothing for you here, let's go down first!" ”

When the Dongchang factory guards heard Lu Fang's words, they immediately felt like they had been amnestied, and responded in a deep voice: "Yes, Gonggong Lu!" ”

After that, the guards of the East Factory did not hesitate at all, and immediately left the duty room of the celebrant supervisor.

Although Feng Bao on the side looked very calm, his heart was already turbulent and could not be calm for a long time, which could be seen from the slightly trembling hand hidden in his sleeve.

"Anyway, why did the godfather send someone to keep an eye on Hu Zongxian, and besides, what did Xiao Ge Lao discuss with Hu Zongxian, why did he invite Imperial Doctor Li to come to the door, could it be related to those rumors in the government and the opposition recently?"

At this time, these doubts, like wool that could not find the thread, were intertwined and entangled in Feng Bao's mind, making him feel numb.

Then, I saw him pluck up his courage, looked in the direction where Lu Fang was, and asked cautiously, "What are you ......doing?" Godfather, those ...... mentioned earlier"

At this time, Lu Fang didn't mean to solve Feng Bao's confusion, but just shook his head imperceptibly, and said to himself: "Feng Bao, look at it, something big will happen soon." ”

After Lu Fang finished speaking, without waiting for Feng Bao to respond, he paced leisurely and left the duty room of the celebrant supervisor.

……

Recently, these rumors from the government and the opposition have not affected these students who are about to participate in the palace examination.

Except for a small number, the vast majority of students are seizing this last time, burying their heads in the bookcase all day long, studying hard, in order to be able to obtain a good ranking in the palace examination at that time.

And in the blink of an eye, the time for the palace test has arrived.

Since the questions of the palace examination have already been formulated, Zhang Juzheng, as a fellow examiner, is only responsible for planning the examination process related to it in advance.

The general process of the palace examination is that the officials of the Ministry of Rites act as guides to guide the tributes selected through the examination to enter the Imperial Palace, and then line up to the north, and then the emperor will go to the Imperial Palace to preside over the examination.

After the tributes who came to take the examination saluted the emperor, the deacons announced the board with the questions in front of the candidates, and then the eunuchs in the palace handed over the test papers with the questions to the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Finally, the officials of the Ministry of Rites will send the examination papers to the candidates, and after kowtowing to the emperor, the examination can begin.

The candidates who take the exam will discuss the policy topics proposed by the emperor, the emperor will make the policy questions, and the scholars will write the policy essays.

And the place where the palace examination was held, just like the usual imperial examination, was set in the imperial palace.

At this time, dozens of tables were neatly placed in the Imperial Palace, just like last time, and in order to ensure that candidates could read the questions on the test papers clearly, all the fire candles in the Imperial Palace were lit and guarded by special officials to avoid accidents.

And in order to prevent the water, outside the Imperial Palace, the Praetorian Guards have long been ready for battle, not only that, but in the square outside the Imperial Palace, there are also several large water tanks filled with water, and equipped with buckets, rattan buckets, bamboo ladders, axes, saws and other tools.

In the event of a flood, the Praetorian Guards waiting outside the Imperial Palace were able to arrive as soon as possible and extinguish the fire.

Li Chunfang saw that the time was almost up, so she immediately looked at Zhang Juzheng not far away, nodded, and said slowly: "It's almost time, let's start!" ”

"Hmm."

After Li Chunfang finished speaking, he turned around and nodded to his subordinates on the side.

"Yes, Lord Shangshu!"

The subordinate quickly understood, and after answering the call, he walked away quickly.

Not long after, many students who came to participate in this palace examination entered the Huangji Hall in an orderly manner under the guidance of the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

The seats in the palace examination have already been arranged according to the results of the examination, so the position where Xu Shixing is sitting is at the front.

At the same time, his location is also the closest to Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng.

After sitting in his position, Xu Shixing looked at Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng not far away, and his face was full of excitement that could not be concealed.

You must know that Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng, one is the champion of Jiajing for 26 years, and the other is the secretary of the military department and cabinet minister.

It is no exaggeration to say that these two people, standing at the apex of the Ming civil officials, are the goals that no math of mathematics dreams of trying to achieve.

Perhaps to relieve his tension, I saw Xu Shixing take a deep breath and begin to look at everything around him.

For him, everything in front of him was so novel, and gradually, Xu Shixing felt that his restless heart gradually calmed down.

"Xu Shixing, you have been studying hard for so many years, isn't it just for today?"

"Don't have any regrets, just do your best!"

After comforting himself like this, I saw that Xu Shixing's face was full of determination, and he unconsciously clenched his fists.

……

And soon, the test papers of this palace examination were also sent down, and the students who were to participate in this palace examination, after seeing the above exam questions, they couldn't help but put their minds at ease.

"The defeat of the Tatars by the imperial court is a foregone conclusion, and I wonder how to prevent the Tatars from rising again and relieve the border ......troubles once and for all."

After Xu Shixing saw the exam questions, he did not rush to answer, but after pondering for a long time, he picked up the pen and wrote it down.

"The ancients used to be cloudy, and the security of China, and the four Yi self-submission, abide by the ancestral industry, do not take the land outside the territory, but Weichen believes that the barbarians are afraid of power but not morality, the barbarians are weak and strong, gather small countries and attack the big country, the poor are humble, and the strong are arrogant, this is the temperament of the barbarians, and it is the nature of the ......"

At this time, Xu Shixing had already entered a state of full attention, he only wanted to express his opinions, but he didn't realize that Zhang Juzheng not far away, as well as Li Chunfang's gaze, lingered on him from time to time.

Seeing Xu Shixing, who looked confident and struggling to write, a hint of approval flashed on Zhang Juzheng's face, and he nodded imperceptibly.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time to hand in the papers.

Before this, Xu Shixing had repeatedly checked his answer sheet many times, and after the corresponding officials put his test papers away, Xu Shixing breathed a sigh of relief.

Since rushing to the capital to take this exam, Xu Shixing's nerves have actually been highly tense.

In addition to the heavy burden of study, Xu Shixing also wanted to be the top student in the examination, and then let the people of the Shen family take the initiative to come to the door, begging him to recognize his ancestors and return to his ancestors.

And since the exam papers were put away, Xu Shixing felt an invisible shackle that was detached from his body.

After the examination papers were collected, the end of the palace examination was also announced.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the officials of the Ministry of Rites, these candidates who participated in this palace examination left the Imperial Palace in an orderly manner.

Before the results of the palace examination are announced, what awaits these candidates is endless revelry, as well as feasting.

After returning to the building where he stayed, he saw Xu Shixing slumped on the bed without any image.

Perhaps because of the fulfillment of his long-cherished wish, at this time, he didn't want to do anything, and there was always a feeling of emptiness in his heart.

"After the results of the palace examination are announced, I must inform my father of the news as soon as possible!"

Xu Shixing looked around, looked at everything familiar in the room, and thought so.

After so many years of careful care, Xu Shixing has long regarded Xu Shangzhen, the prefect of Suzhou, as his father.

And after winning the top prize, letting the people of the Shen family come to the door in person and beg him to recognize his ancestors and return to his ancestors, it is just to give an explanation to himself who suffered and discriminated against in his childhood.

Just as Xu Shixing's thoughts were flying, there was a slight knock on the door from outside the door, and after a while, only Zhu Shunxian's voice sounded.

"Brother Rumo, Brother Wen and I have come to see you, anyway, the palace exam is over, let's go out and have a good look tonight!"

"Hmm."

After Xu Shixing responded, he got up from the bed and opened the door.

……

After collecting the answer sheets for this palace examination, the work of marking the papers began in an orderly manner.

The specific ranking of the palace examination, according to the usual practice, will be postponed for two days before being announced.

The officials who can participate in the evaluation of the palace examination answer sheets, without exception, are all wealthy and experienced officials.

At this time, the room was unusually quiet, and the faces of many officials who were responsible for reviewing the answer sheets were full of solemnity.

Everyone was silently reviewing the answer sheet in front of them, and no one spoke.

After all, with the experience of the last imperial examination, no one dares to relax.

If this time, like last time, there are candidates who are not long-sighted, openly oppose the policies of the imperial court and discuss political affairs in vain on the answer sheet, won't they suffer from unjustified disasters?

Since the last incident, in addition to the candidates, those officials who participated in the marking of the papers have been implicated to varying degrees.

Some were transferred to idle positions, and some saw that their careers were hopeless, so they had no choice but to choose Zhishi.

They all saw this scene, and none of them wanted to be next.

Therefore, these officials frowned during the process of reading the papers, and secretly prayed that everything would go well and that what happened last time would not happen again.

Perhaps because of the sincere prayers of these officials, it worked, and until now, they have not encountered a similar situation.

All candidates' answer sheets are in accordance with the rules.

With the progress of grading, the atmosphere in the room has gradually eased.

All the officials who participated in this marking were secretly relieved, it seems that this time the candidates are very aware of the rules and did not mess around.

At this time, I saw Zhang Juzheng putting aside an answer sheet in his hand, and the answer sheet in his hand had just been rated as B by him.

"Alas, the proposed solution is superficial, and I dare not make bold innovations, and I just want to seek a half-official position in peace."

"In that case, do as you wish!"

After sighing, I saw Zhang Juzheng shake his head and continue to join the ranks of reviewing the answer sheet.

At this moment, I saw an official in charge of reviewing the answer sheet, and after hesitating for a long time, he came to Zhang Juzheng and said cautiously: "Elder Zhang Ge, please take a look at this answer sheet!" ”

When Zhang Juzheng heard this, he replied imperceptibly, and then took the answer sheet from the official who was in charge of reviewing the answer sheet, and browsed the content on it with great concentration, only to see that it was written.

"The ancients used to be cloudy, and the security of China, and the four Yi self-submission, abide by the ancestral industry, do not take the land outside the territory, but Weichen believes that the barbarians are afraid of power but not morality, the barbarians are weak and strong, gather small countries and attack the big country, the poor are humble, and the strong are arrogant, this is the temperament of the barbarians, and it is the nature of the ......"

After reading the articles on this answer sheet several times, I saw Zhang Juzheng caressing his beard, his face full of relief, and commented: "Well, although this essay looks a little deviant, it is unexpectedly to Your Majesty's appetite!" ”

Seeing Zhang Juzheng giving such an evaluation, the remaining officials in charge of marking the papers also gathered around, and their faces were full of curiosity that could not be concealed.

They wanted to see what was written on the answer sheet that could make Zhang Juzheng give such an evaluation.

Seeing this situation, Li Chunfang, who was on the side, couldn't hold back the curiosity in her heart and came to Zhang Juzheng.

When Zhang Juzheng saw Li Chunfang coming, he immediately handed over the answer sheet in his hand to Li Chunfang, and said with a smile: "Master Li, you can also take a look!" ”

"Hmm."

After Li Chunfang answered, he took the answer sheet from Zhang Juzheng's hand and skimmed it word by word.

When Li Chunfang first saw the above content, he couldn't help frowning, because in his opinion, the meaning of this article is very simple, that is, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and there should be no mercy for the barbarians.

Even if the two sides want to talk, they have to subdue the other side and then talk, as said at the beginning of this article, the barbarians are afraid of power but not morality.

Soon, Li Chunfang finished reading all the content of this policy.

After this, a look of hesitation appeared on Li Chunfang's face at the right time, and he saw him look in the direction where Zhang Juzheng was, and asked: "Elder Zhang Ge, will this policy be a little too extreme, after all, ......"

When Zhang Juzheng heard Li Chunfang's words, he shook his head and said categorically: "No, on the contrary, this article is very appealing to Your Majesty!" ”

"After all, Your Majesty has done the same, whether it is to sweep away the Japanese on the southeast coast in the first place, or in dealing with the Tatars, Your Majesty has always practiced this principle."

"Your Majesty's attitude towards the barbarians is very clear, that is, kill, kill until they are frightened, kill until they no longer dare to invade the frontier of my Ming Dynasty, you see, isn't this very effective?"

When Zhang Juzheng said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "If Your Majesty is allowed to choose, this policy will definitely be rated as the first place. ”

Li Chunfang saw that Zhang Juzheng was so determined, and after thinking about it for a long time, he also expressed his agreement with this: "Since Zhang Ge Lao thinks that there is no problem, then it is so decided, and this policy article will be tentatively designated as the first place!" ”

When Li Chunfang's words fell, the faces of the officials who were in charge of reviewing the answer sheets couldn't help but show a look of shock.

At the same time, they are also becoming more and more curious about the content of the text.

At this moment, Li Chunfang seemed to suddenly think of something, and asked: "By the way, check it out, who wrote this essay?" ”

"Yes, Lord Shangshu!"

When he came back, his face was full of shock, facing the direction where Li Chunfang was, and reported in a deep voice: "Lord Yushangshu, this policy seems to have been written by Xu Shixing!" ”

Everyone present was naturally not unfamiliar with Xu Shixing's name, because not long ago, Xu Shixing had just won the first place in the examination.

"Hey, this is two yuan, and the future of this son must be immeasurable!"

Soon, Xu Shixing's policy article spread in the hands of the officials who were responsible for reviewing the answer sheets on the spot.

"Well, this policy makes sense, blindly giving favors to the barbarians will not only fail to achieve the intended goal, but will outweigh the losses!"

"If you do this, it will inevitably chill the hearts of the people and soldiers!"

"yes!" (End of chapter)