Xiang Chong's hometown did not have any relatives, so he was buried in the official land of Jinyiwei in the suburbs of western Beijing. Early in the morning, the sky was bright, and I took Hardy, Ning Boyang, and the brothers of Beizhen Fusi to buy incense candles, burning paper, ingots, etc., and sent him off, but also counted one of my wishes, after all, Xiang Chong was the first friend I met when I came to Jinyiwei.

There are a lot of graves in the official land, and I heard from the people who watched the graves that since the beginning of the Yongle year, many people from Jinyi Wei have been buried here one after another, and the causes of their deaths are different, but there is one thing, that is, they can't go back to their hometown to be buried, so they can only be buried here. In one hundred and fifty years, I don't know how many people have been buried. I watched silently, respectfully lit incense, and bowed in all directions, even if it is a junior respect for his predecessors!

When I returned to Fusi in Beizhen, it was already early hour, and as soon as I washed my face, a school captain came to inform me and asked me to meet in the front yard immediately, saying that today's literary exam, the exam question is a drill book.

How do I know that? I couldn't help but panic. After the captain left, Ning Boyang and Hardy surrounded him, and they were also very strange, and said: "It's really troublesome, what else do you need to be upgraded to the general flag?" Why didn't you say it earlier? Although they said this, their eyes stared at me, I looked helpless, and said: "I'm just like you, I just received a notice, today's literary exam, what do I know about the code?!" Ning Boyang said: "This is strange, it is said that such a big thing as the literary examination has to be said in advance, everyone knows that you went out for a funeral, why no one mentioned it?" "I was also confused, but I didn't know how to prepare.

After a brief tidying up, we hurried to the front yard and found that the yard was full of people taking the exam. Everyone was in a mess, there were really flipping books, I panicked, Ning Boyang turned around, and when he came back, his face changed greatly, and he whispered to me: "They have known the news for a long time, it seems that you don't know, second brother." I was even more flustered, but I didn't want to say more, and said, "Let it be fate." ”

The time has come, a person dressed as a thousand households came out, cleared his throat, the courtyard was suddenly silent, the thousand households said loudly: "Brothers, I am experienced in the division of the thousand households Wei Zheng, today the Jinyi Guard selected the general flag, at the command of the commander, I will say a few words." Grandpa Tai has an order that the state selects talents, and what is needed is real talent and real learning, so in the future, it will be examined, no less than the imperial examination. Although we are from a martial arts background, we still need to be familiar with the formulation of the country, and on the orders of Lord Murong, this matter has already been informed to you. Therefore, after a while, it will all depend on your creation. After saying that, he turned around, and someone inside coughed, he turned his head and said, "The exam begins!" Enter in order! ”

When the three of us heard this, we looked at each other unconsciously, it seemed that I couldn't pass the literary exam, and when I thought of this, my heart was also steady. The serial number was sent down quickly, but I was in the back. Ning Boyang kept staring at me, and when he saw that I didn't move, he said suspiciously: "Second brother, will you do it?" I smiled bitterly, shook my head, and said, "What can I know!" ”

I saw that one by one entered the hall through the left side door, although the main entrance was separated by a bamboo curtain, but I could vaguely see that behind the table in the middle room, there were five examiners, and the answerers were standing outside, answering questions loudly. We also hear it clearly from the outside, and often the inside says that it is good, even if the person passes, the person can walk out of the main door generously, and if the voice is not good, the person will come out of the door on the right side.

This large-scale promotion of the general flag is because Hongzhiye's health has improved, and he has made an exception to allow Jinyiwei to promote a group of qualified people to be promoted, which can be described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so there are many small flags and captains who apply for promotion, and the questions asked inside are also very miscellaneous, most of them are drills, I desperately remember other people's questions and answers, although my brain is good, but an hour has passed, and all I know is one-sided. Maybe it's because of the hot weather, or because I'm nervous, in short, I feel upset and irritable, but I wonder why Liao Jianzhong didn't let me prepare, and now I can only resign myself to fate. I only heard a shout inside: "Zhang Ying, the captain of the Fusi School of Beizhen, came in and replied!" "The sound is pleasant.

I shouted "yes" and walked in briskly. The room was very large, and a young attendant looked at me and led me in with a smile, this attendant was white and clean, with straight eyebrows and eyes, and his demeanor was particularly gentle, like a white-faced scholar. He asked me to stand at the door, there was a beaded curtain between the outside and the inside, and behind me was the main entrance to enter, and I could see all the beaded curtains outside, and I felt as if countless eyes were staring at me, and it was very airy and cool, and I was still sweating nervously.

After a while, a majestic voice came from inside, saying, "You are Zhang Ying!" I said loudly: "The subordinate is Zhang Ying!" The man seemed to be looking at me, but I didn't dare to look up, and the man said, "Raise your head!" Now I'm going to ask you questions! ”

I felt like my heart was going to jump to my throat, my palms were sweaty, and someone laughed: "Don't be too nervous, just answer seriously." Listening to the voice, it was Murong Zhao, I hurriedly said, "Yes!" ”

After a moment of silence, my heart pounded, and one person spoke: "Have you ever been a charlatan?" I hurriedly said: "Yes, my ancestors practiced medicine, and my subordinates were nurtured by the family, so I know a little better." ”

"Then how did you get into the Jinyi Guard?" The man asked, and I was just about to answer, when another person whispered a few words, and the man smiled: "It seems that you Jinyiwei are full of talents!" ”

One person smiled and said: "Jinyi Wei was set up by Emperor Taizu, shouldering the responsibility of protecting the imperial court. "Listening to the voice, it should be Murong Zhao.

The person who asked the question just now coughed lightly, then stopped speaking, and the other person said slowly: "I have just read your resume, I can see that you have some skills, and you are also very strong, this is very good, young people like you are needed in the Jinyi Guard to carry on the past and the future." Although the general flag is nothing, it is indeed a position that connects the upper and lower levels, and many hundreds of households have been made from this position. It could have been appointed directly, but for the sake of justice, the imperial court sent the imperial history to carefully check you, and you can answer truthfully, in this case, let me ask you, "Da Ming Law" was created by Emperor Taizu Gao, what do you mean in the first volume of "Da Ming Law" are five punishments and ten evils? What are the Eight Discussions? "I just relaxed my mood, and suddenly I lifted it up again, obediently, how do I know this. My head was buzzing and blank.

A clear reply suddenly sounded in his ears: "Back to my lords, the five punishments, ten evils and eight discussions are actually the "Famous Laws" in the "Da Ming Law", which is the first of all volumes, and the five punishments are flogging, rods, imprisonment, exile, and death; The ten evils are rebellion, rebellion, rebellion, rebellion, disobedience, disrespect, filial piety, disharmony, injustice, and civil strife; The eight discussions are for the family, the reason, the merit, the virtuous, the ability, the noble, and the guest. ”

God, I could hardly believe my ears, the voice was very similar to the voice I was speaking, and the person who answered for me beside me was the young squire, who spoke quietly, and listened quietly, as if I were an outsider, silently watching.

"Excellent! It seems that you are quite familiar with "Da Ming Law" and meet the promotion conditions, Zhang Ying, you can go out! Work hard, don't disappoint everyone's expectations! A pleasant voice came from inside, and another person also said: "Yes, yes, Master Mu, you really have good eyesight!" I stayed for a while, and the attendant said with a smile: "Zhang Zongqi, come here!" The sound instantly returned to its original shape, and I walked out woodenly, and the harsh sunlight made it impossible for me to see clearly for a while.

There are more and more onlookers outside, who are coming to see the excitement or cheering for their partners. I walked heavily, not depressed, but I was amazed by everything I had just done. I relieved myself and looked gratefully at the attendant who had accompanied me, to be exact, a scribe, dressed in a well-washed robe, with a collar and sleeve in order. He was thin and weak, and his fair face was always calm, he didn't look at me squarely, at this time, Hardy, Ning Boyang, and Lao Yu had already rushed over, they knew that I had passed, and congratulated me warmly, Ning Boyang hugged me while laughing: "I knew you were fine, sure enough, no problem, second brother, you are too calm, I am frightened!" And the scribe finally looked at me, smiled indifferently, and said, "Mr. Zhang, you can celebrate with your brothers!" I was about to ask his name, but he turned away.