The Reborn Duke of Ming Dynasty

Every day in the early morning, the ministers of the previous court had to get up at midnight and cross half of the capital to come to the Meridian Gate.At Yinshi, the ministers arrived outside the Meridian Gate and waited.When the drum on the Meridian Gate tower beats, the ministers must line up.At Maoshi, the bell rang, and the palace gate opened at this time.Hundreds of officials entered one by one, walked across the Jinshui Bridge and formed a team in the square.Any officials who cough, spit, or walk unsteadily will be recorded by the censor who is in charge of picketing, and deal with it after listening.Then, the emperor came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and all the officials knelt down and kowtowed three times.Only officials of the fourth grade or above can talk to the emperor. Ministers report government affairs to the emperor, and the emperor asks questions or answers.

Of course, the above is just common sense, and has nothing to do with the current Zhang Fan, but he and the hundreds of tributes also have to suffer this "sin" with the officials. They wait outside the hall for the end of the morning court before entering .Zhang Fan saw that many people showed an unnatural body because of hunger, although their faces were still so strong and calm.Zhang Fan couldn't help but rejoice that before leaving the house in the morning, Mrs. Zhao insisted on asking Xiangmei to make some breakfast for herself. If she is inexperienced, she is inexperienced. I don't know when it will be open this morning!

Although in the past few years, the world of Ming Dynasty has been relatively stable, and there have been no major natural or man-made disasters, but with the advent of summer, some small-scale floods have occurred in various places.At the meeting, there were officials admonishing the emperor, and the emperor had to discuss disaster relief with all the officials, especially the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry. It was a long time.It wasn't until Sishi that the matter was tentatively agreed upon, and only then did someone remember that today seems to be the day of the palace examination.

"Xuan, the tribute scholars of the current department are going to the palace." The emperor's order was passed down layer by layer.

Zhang Fan is the most outstanding member of the current discipline, so he naturally walks in the front row, and the tributes behind him are arranged in order of rank.When they arrived at the hall, everyone knelt down and shouted long live. Of course, they were taught by the etiquette eunuchs in the palace before.

"Everyone will live forever." Emperor Longqing still attached great importance to the first batch of people who would become Jinshi after he ascended the throne.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Everyone thanked again and stood up.

"All of you are the pillars of my Ming Dynasty. It is really not easy to stand out from the tens of thousands of applicants in the country after ten years of hard work." Emperor Longqing encouraged them, "Now this is the last hurdle. Do it yourself."

Above the main hall, the eunuch in the palace ordered the young eunuchs to prepare the desk for the palace examination.Zhang Fan came to his desk first and sat down, and the others also sat down at once.It has been four hours since I woke up in the morning. People like Zhang Fan who have eaten breakfast are a little hungry, not to mention those who have not eaten, especially some older people, are already starving. Dazed, but how could he be disrespectful in front of the emperor, he was secretly supporting himself.

In fact, the palace examination, as the highest standard examination in ancient China, is naturally extremely solemn. The topics of the palace examination are drawn up by the cabinet, and then submitted to the emperor for selection.When the exam was about to start, a scholar took out the exam questions from the Huang case in the hall and awarded them to the officials of the Ministry of Rites.Here is a beautiful scene, this time Xu Jie gave it to his student, Zhang Juzheng, Minister of Rites.The officials of the Ministry of Rites began to distribute the test papers after the civil and military officials and the tributes had counseled for the worship.

The test questions in the palace examination are mainly policy questions. The emperor asks a few questions about current affairs, politics or historical events.

After the written part of the Palace Examination is over, candidates hand in their papers, and officials from the Ministry of Rites lead them to dinner.The test papers were handed over to the emperor for personal reading.It is said that it is a personal reading, where the emperor in the Ming Dynasty would do this job, it was all judged by the minister who read the paper.According to the pros and cons of the articles, the five grades are positioned, and then the test papers of the top ten Gongshi are presented to the emperor for review, and the names of the candidates are opened in person.

The ministers who reviewed the papers this time were all cabinet scholars. After handing over the selected articles to the emperor, Emperor Longqing asked Zhang Juzheng casually: "Zhang Aiqing, I heard that you have accepted a student recently?"

"Return to Your Majesty, yes." Zhang Juzheng said, "It is the Xieyuan Zhang Fan from Shaanxi who followed the army to Hetao at the beginning of the year."

"I remember this person." After Zhang Juzheng said so, Emperor Longqing thought of Zhang Fan, "Is he also among the tributes in the palace examination this time?"

"That's right, it's Jinke Huiyuan, who sits closest to His Majesty." Zhang Juzheng said.

Emperor Longqing thought about it, and there was some shadow of Zhang Fan in his memory: "This son can win the Huiyuan, he must be a person who is willing to work hard. I have a good image of him, and if he can be appreciated by Zhang Aiqing, he will definitely be a good person in the future." The talent of the humerus." After speaking, Long Qing laughed.

"Your Majesty is absurd, Yuande still needs to be tempered." Zhang Juzheng said.

Long Qing said again: "I don't know how Zhang Yuande is in this imperial examination. I don't know if he is among the ten test questions." He also looked at the ten test questions on the imperial case in front of his eyes.Without saying any more, the emperor picked up the test questions in front of him and read them.

"Okay, good article." After a long while, Long Qing's exclamation woke up the ministers present, "This article is really good, not to mention the beautiful writing, the content of the article can also directly point to the topic of my question, without the slightest hint. There are no flattering words. Especially the proposals in it are really incredible. The only slight flaw is that it is too sharp, and it seems that it needs to be honed. But it is much better than other articles."

The ministers showed no surprised expressions, they had read all these articles, so they naturally knew which one Long Qing was talking about.Long Qing immediately ordered someone to open the seal of the test paper, only to see that Zhang Fan's name was on the test paper.Long Qing smiled happily, looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Zhang Aiqing, you have accepted a good student."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment." Zhang Juzheng, who has always been very upright, also showed a smile at this moment.

"It seems that Mr. Zhang's beloved student is going to become the number one scholar in this subject. It's just that Mr. Zhang, as the Minister of Rites, is in charge of this palace examination, so he is not afraid of other people's gossip?" It was Xu Jie who spoke.

As soon as his words came out, Zhang Juzheng knew that trouble was coming, and it seemed that he and the teacher had completely broken off.But things have developed to this point and there is no room for maneuver.It's just that now, as Zhang Fan's teacher, it's inconvenient for him to say anything, so he can only be anxious, but he can't show the slightest expression of urgency on his face.

Long Qing was a bit apprehensive after hearing these words, Xu Jie saw an opportunity to take advantage of it, took advantage of the victory and pursued him, and said, "The old minister also mentioned that this Yuande article is very well written, but if he is determined to be the number one scholar in this way, I'm afraid some Not good. After all, if the article is well written, it doesn’t mean that the official is doing well.”

The other cabinet ministers on the side were puzzled when they heard Xu Jie's words. Xu Jie was very open-minded in the past, but now he is targeting one person so much, which makes people very puzzled.The few brains turned quickly, thinking of the relationship between Zhang Fan and Zhang Juzheng, they seemed to have some understanding in their hearts, and their eyes couldn't help looking at Zhang Juzheng.

Xu Jie's words made Long Qing very embarrassed. After all, he was very optimistic about Zhang Fan, and now he wanted to reuse him, but Xu Jie's words were not unreasonable.But then he let go of his brows, this scholar has taken so many exams in order to become an official, and isn't it good or bad based on first-hand writing!Said: "Although there is such a problem, is it true that internal promotion does not avoid relatives? If a person who can write such an article is buried for this reason, my Ming Dynasty may come to an end."

Although these words are very unfilial, but this world belongs to the master in front of me, so it's not up to him to say what he says.All the ministers also said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise."

"Since the No. [-] Scholar has been decided, I will leave the rest to you to judge. After reading such a good article, it will be boring to read other articles." Long Qing said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"By the way, since Zhang Fan is already the No. [-] scholar, what kind of official position are you going to give him?" Long Qing was about to leave when he suddenly thought of this matter and asked.

"Although Zhang Fan is very talented, he is also the number one scholar in this subject, and a student of the top rank, but the young man still needs to practice a lot, and don't give him a high position." Seeing that the previous words did not work, Xu Jie said, Again here is the abacus.

"Well, it's the same way." Long Qing also thought it was the same.

"Why don't you let him enter the Hanlin Academy as an editor?" someone suggested.

"Not good, I'm afraid this will polish his vigor, so it won't be beautiful." Long Qing disagreed.

"In the old minister's opinion, it's better to send him somewhere so that he can get acquainted with the people." Xu Jie had another idea at this time.If Zhang Fan really went somewhere, Xu Jie would have a lot of ways to deal with him, whether it was civil or political achievements, a little effort could make Zhang Fan buried for the rest of his life.

"This is not good. Zhang Fan can be regarded as the number one scholar. It is time to set an example for scholars all over the world. If he is placed in a local government, he will not be awarded too much official position. This is not the case. The hearts of scholars all over the world have been chilled, who will endure those ten years of hard study in the future, and what they get in return is just such a scene!" Zhang Juzheng can no longer be silent, he can't see Zhang Fan being buried like this.

After hearing Zhang Juzheng's words, everyone took it very seriously, and finally Long Qing said: "I see, let him take a trial bachelor degree from the Imperial Academy, and study with the prince."

The ministers didn't expect Long Qing to try this idea, but they understood it after thinking about it in a blink of an eye.The crown prince Zhu Yijun was newly established this year. Although he was only seven years old, he had reached the age for education.It is naturally good to have Zhang Fan, the number one scholar, as an attendant.Moreover, it is an opportunity for Zhang Fan to get in touch with some political affairs, or the emperor wants to test the prince.Not just an opportunity to hone, but also an opportunity to grow seniority.I saw that Long Qing was going to use Zhang Fan a lot.However, all the ministers agreed with this proposal, and Zhang Juzheng had no reason to object.However, this Hanlin Academy's probationary bachelor is an official of the fourth grade, which is already very big for a person who has just entered an official position.

"However..." Long Qing continued, "I heard that Zhang Fan also needs to know Yuan's name. It seems that my Daming is going to produce another talented person who has won three consecutive Yuan."

It was only after Long Qing's reminder that everyone remembered this.There was a Shangren before Lianzhong Sanyuan in the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Fan was the second.However, there was actually another person named Huang Guan before, who was also the first in the provincial examination, general examination, and palace examination. He just offended Ming Chengzu and was stripped of the title of champion, and no one mentions it now.

On the second day, Longqing summoned the top ten Xinke Jinshi, which is the so-called "Xiaochuanlu".Zhang Fan was the number one pick who had already been "determined" and naturally wanted to come.Then when the rankings of the palace examination were announced for political affairs, the emperor summoned all the Jinshi to fill out the big and small gold lists.After looking at the gold list, Zhang Fan's name was impressively written on top of the list.In this palace examination, the number one scholar, the second place, and Tanhua were awarded Jinshi and the first place; the seven people in the second class were awarded Jinshi's background;

Of course, the whole process of the palace examination is not over yet.The champion of the new department, that is, Zhang Fan will also lead the Jinshi of the same department to the "Qionglin Banquet" specially set up by the Ministry of Rites.After the banquet, the commissioner had to lead all Jinshi to the Confucian Temple to worship the Confucian saint. After the worship, he had to go to Guozijian to erect a stele and engrave the name of Xinke Jinshi on the stone stele. The process of the palace examination was all over.

After all the dust settled, Zhang Fan was free to return home.Mrs. Zhao is really in good spirits when it comes to happy events. Now that his son has become the No. [-] scholar and has been named a fourth-rank official, there is no reason to be unhappy.Although the little girl Xiangmei didn't know how high an official she was from the fourth rank, she had heard the term number one scholar, but it used to be only in stories, but now there was a lifelike number one scholar in front of her, which made this little girl Excited for a long time.

Zhang Fan already knew where he was assigned. Although the status of Prince's attendant did not have much rights, Zhang Fan also knew that this was a good place to mix seniority.He knew that the prince Zhu Yijun he was going to accompany would definitely become the next emperor of the Ming Dynasty, so he had followed the old path of his teacher Zhang Juzheng.But this can speed up the realization of his goal, which is not bad.Some of the other Jinshi were kept in the court, and some were distributed to various places to take official positions.

Ever since Zhang Fan became the No. [-] scholar, his family has become full of people.Mrs. Zhao also experienced this situation when she was in Zhang Fanzhong, but now the identities of these people who came to the door were no longer ordinary neighbors in the neighborhood, but they were servants of some officials. This really made Mrs. Zhao flustered It took a while, but now I can deal with various situations naturally.On the other hand, the little girl Xiangmei didn't change much except that she was happy for her young master. Although she hadn't seen anything in the world, she always put herself in the position of a servant, so there was nothing she couldn't cope with.It's just that with Zhang Fan's changes, even she can clearly feel that her status has improved, and more people greet her when she goes out.Those who are close to each other know that Long Qing has a lot of love for Zhang Fan, and it is certain that he will flourish in the future, so why don't he try his best to make friends with him.What's more, Zhang Fan has already decided to go to the East Palace to accompany the prince. This is simply a shortcut to reach the sky in one step. There is no reason not to make friends.

It's just that they didn't know that Xu Jie held a deep hostility towards Zhang Fan. Apart from Zhang Fan, Xu Jie, and Zhang Juzheng, the three parties involved in this matter, only some people in the cabinet saw some clues.Although Zhang Fan has passed this hurdle now, it is not a smooth road to meet him, and there are more unfavorable things waiting for him.Fortunately, although Xu Jie hated Zhang Fan, he would not deal with him in too lowly a way, but his decades of experience in the officialdom can be described as very profound, and it would be very difficult to guard against any conspiracy!Zhang Fan felt a little helpless when he thought that he had offended this cabinet minister before he became an official.Xu Jie couldn't deal with Zhang Juzheng, but it was easier to deal with him. It seemed that Zhang Fan had to be extremely careful in his actions in the future, so as not to be caught by it.

Although he won the first prize, to be honest, it really can't make people happy!These prosperous scenes in front of me are not reliable, and they are likely to be wiped out in an instant!

A few days later, it was time for Zhang Fan to take office.This time I didn't go to court, so I didn't have to get up so early.Zhang Fan first came to the Ministry of Officials, and an official registered for him.At this time, the morning court had not yet ended, so Zhang Fan had no choice but to wait in the official department, drinking tea while chatting with those officials who were still free for the time being.

It was almost noon when the morning court ended, when someone came to inform Zhang Fan that Long Qing wanted to see him.

When Zhang Fan was told to take up this position, because he would have to stay in the palace for a long time, he had been taught by officials from the Ministry of Officials and etiquette eunuchs in the palace.On the way, Zhang Fan also met the ministers of the San Dynasty. Many of them greeted Zhang Fan with a smile, and Zhang Fan responded with a smile.It's just that Xu Jie, who was walking at the end, didn't even look at Zhang Fan, and snorted coldly as he walked past him.Zhang Fan only said that his troubles were not over yet, but he was not afraid of troubles, so he responded with a smile.

Zhang Fan followed a young eunuch to the imperial study room. It was not time for lunch yet, and Long Qing was sitting there reading a book.

"Your Majesty, my minister, long live." Zhang Fan saluted Long Qing.

"Get up." Long Qing said.

After Zhang Fan stood up, he saw a very familiar person standing beside Long Qing.Zhang Fan didn't think much, and found that Long Qing was looking at himself.This was the first time that Long Qing summoned Zhang Fan alone, this time Long Qing observed Zhang Fan at close range.Zhang Fan was originally handsome, probably because he had been on the battlefield, but he also revealed a sense of righteousness, which made Long Qing very satisfied.

"Zhang Qing's family, I will hand over the crown prince to you. Serve the crown prince and study well." There is no nonsense, Long Qing is very confident in his own eyesight.

"My minister will definitely assist the prince wholeheartedly, please rest assured, Your Majesty," Zhang Fan said.

"I heard that you have worshiped Zhang Qing's family as your teacher?" Long Qing asked.

"Master Zhang is rich in learning and generous, he is a role model for this minister to follow. Besides, the teacher and this minister hit it off right away, so this minister worshiped Mr. Zhang as his teacher." Zhang Fan said.

"Master Zhang's knowledge, conduct, and official status are obvious to all in the court. It is also a good thing that you can worship him as a teacher." Old Please said, "However, I found that there are people in the court who don't like you very much."

Zhang Fan couldn't help being secretly surprised when he heard Long Qing's words.In the palace that day, Zhang Juzheng also told him about the discussions between Long Qing and the cabinet ministers about Zhang Fan. He did not expect that Long Qing could see something from these few words. It seemed that the emperor had always pretended to be confused.It's just that Zhang Fan doesn't know what it means to tell himself these things now.

"You don't have to panic, the world belongs to me, and it's not difficult for me to know something." Seeing Zhang Fan's surprised look, Long Qing said, "The reason why I let you go to the East Palace to accompany the prince is because of this consideration. I am very optimistic about you and will be of great use in the future. I don't want you to be troubled by these meaningless things. They fight back and forth for nothing more than the word "rights". I can let them go with them, but my heart is also I have some plans, and I must not let these things interfere with my plans. Now you just need to serve the prince well, and you don't have to care about these things."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Fan said.He thought about it, and yes, although he has entered the officialdom now, how can he worry about these things now.

"So, Feng Bao, take Zhang Qing's family to the East Palace." Long Qing said to the person beside him.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Feng Bao replied, and said to Zhang Fan, "Master Zhang, come with our family."

After leaving the Imperial Study Room, Zhang Fan remembered that the person in front of him was Feng Bao, the eunuch who went to Datong to preach the decree last time, and hurriedly said hello: "Eunuch Feng, so it is you."

Seeing that Zhang Fan recognized him, Feng Bao was also very happy: "Master Zhang, it's been more than half a year since we left, and when we meet again, he will already be the No. [-] student in high school and a fourth-rank official! Congratulations."

"Where, I made my father-in-law laugh." Zhang Fan said, "Isn't the eunuch the eunuch holding the pen of the supervisor of ceremonies now? Why is he by His Majesty's side?"

"As the supervisor of ceremonies, our family will help His Majesty handle some memorials, and the memorials from various places will not arrive until the afternoon." Feng Bao said, "In the morning, our family is always at the side of the pen."

Although the eunuch Bingbi, who is the supervisor of ceremonies, is in charge of "reviewing red", he can even be regarded as handling the memorials on behalf of the emperor, and he is considered to be in the same position as Liu Jin decades ago, but Zhang Fan listened to what Zhang Juzheng said, this Feng Bao Can be regarded as decent, can also act impartially, and has a political vision.Zhang Fan also had contact with him, and felt that he was a very nice person, and he admired him very much.

The two were talking, and the East Palace arrived.As soon as Zhang Fan walked in, he heard a sharp voice calling in a low voice: "Your Highness, come down quickly..."

Zhang Fan looked at Feng Bao suspiciously, who also looked helpless. "It seems that His Royal Highness is not very easy to serve!" Zhang Fan thought in his heart, and walked over.