People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 716 Qujiang Banquet, Student Association

Above Chang'an City, the sky was cloudless and clear.

The morning light falls from the sky on the east side of Daming Palace, like a golden glow, shining brightly.

Wearing a purple official robe, Li Xuan walked out of the Danfeng Gate with a gentle expression, the jade ring on her waist ringing softly, solemn and indifferent.

A group of restless Xinke Jinshi outside the door raised their eyes immediately when they heard the sound.

Seeing Li Xuan, everyone bowed at the same time, cupped their hands and shouted: "Student has seen Shaohonglu Temple."

Xuanbang, the mission of Honghe Temple.

Li Xuan stood still, looked at everyone calmly, raised his hands, and slowly opened the imperial edict in his hand.

Under the morning light, Li Xuan read word by word: "Only in the third year of the Shangyuan period, Bingzi's imperial examination was held on the seventh day of the third month, and the examination was conducted in the world, and the performance evaluations were in order. "

The first place in Yijia, the number one scholar, while many Jinshi present bowed down, their ears perked up.

"First place in the first class, Zheng County, Shanzhou, Cheng Xingmou." After Li Xuan's words fell, among the many Jinshi, the honest young man in slightly worn clothes immediately couldn't help but look up in surprise, and then hurried forward, suppressing his heart Excited, he cupped his hands at Li Xuan and said, "Student, student..."

Li Xuan shook her head slightly, and said softly: "Chen!"

"My minister Cheng Xingmou kowtowed to thank the emperor for his kindness!" Cheng Xingmou bowed deeply to the ground.

No one knew how heavy the pressure was on his heart. Since he won the first place in the general examination, how many people said that he was not worthy of the position; when the palace examination, the number one chosen by His Majesty will definitely be Xu Qi, a member of the aristocratic family.

If it wasn't for what others said too much, Cheng Xingmou's mood would have been extremely complicated. During the palace examination, he might have been confused and made a mistake in answering the questions, and eventually passed the number one scholar, but fortunately he survived.

Now, after His Highness, His Majesty's champion is still him.

For a while, Cheng Xingmou was full of emotions.

Li Xuan nodded slightly, and said, "Get up, stand to one side."

"Here!" Cheng Xingmou immediately got up and stood to one side with his hands folded.

Li Xuan looked at the others peacefully, and continued to read: "Bingzi Jinshi Division, first grade, second grade, Anlu Xuqi, Anzhou."

Wearing a blue satin robe, the handsome young man Xu Qi stepped forward respectfully, cupped his hands and said: "My minister, Xu Qi, thank the emperor for his grace!"

"Stand up and stand to one side."

"Here!"

"Bingzi Jinshi Division, Yijia No.3, Zhuge Minghui of Wuzhou."

Zhuge Minghui, who was wearing a blue robe, stepped forward and bowed his hands solemnly: "My minister, Zhuge Minghui, thank the emperor for his grace!"

Li Xuan nodded slightly, and said, "Get up, stand to one side!"

"Here!"

……

A group of Xinke Scholars lined up in a row under the guidance of Honglu Temple Shaoqing Li Xuan, and then entered the Hanyuan Hall together to thank the emperor.

The emperor comforted and encouraged, and preached the current affairs. After a while, all the Jinshi retreated one after another.

After saying a few words about political affairs, the emperor withdrew from the court, and all the ministers withdrew.

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Today's affairs are not over yet, he still has to prepare for the Qujiang Banquet.

The Qujiang Banquet originated from the time of Emperor Gaozu, and it was a banquet given by the imperial court to raise the first son, also known as the Qujiang Banquet.

But Qujiang Luodi Banquet is not pleasant, so it is only called Qujiang Banquet.

In Qujiang Garden, the imperial court gave banquets to the candidates who failed the examination in Shangjing, expressing the court's comfort; at the same time, they allowed the unsuccessful candidates to stay in Chang'an, stay in temples, study poetry and essays, and try to retake the exam next time.

It's just that in recent years, in addition to giving a banquet to the unsuccessful candidates, Qu Jiang, a new Jinshi Jinshi, was also invited to the banquet to congratulate him on his rank.

The Qujiang Banquet is jointly organized by the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple.

Li Xuan, Liu Boying, Minister of Honghe Temple, Li Huaiyan, minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Sili, minister of meritorious service in the Ministry of Officials, went away after discussing with each other.

At this moment, a servant stepped forward and stopped Li Xuan: "My lord, His Royal Highness is here to invite you."

Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, then cupped her hands and said, "I will come over immediately."

Turning around, Li Xuan gave Liu Boying a worried look, and Liu Boying shook his head slightly.

Li Xuan was sure, then looked at Li Huaiyan and Liu Sili, cupped his hands and said, "You two, Your Highness has an order, Xuan will go first."

"My lord, please!" Li Huaiyan and Liu Sili watched Li Xuan leave, then sighed softly, and said, "I hope that what happened yesterday will end soon."

Liu Boying nodded and walked out while saying: "Just after the palace door opened today, a decree came out from the palace that the prince, Zhongsheren Hu Zai, would be demoted to be the governor of Bo, and the secretary and young eunuch Zheng Fan would be demoted to be the governor of You."

When Li Huaiyan and Liu Sili heard the news for the first time, they were extremely shocked, but then they couldn't help asking: "This is?"

The prince Zhongsheren is the fifth rank, Bozhou, Jimizhou, and the history of the governor of Jimi, the sixth rank.

Secretary Shaojian, from the fourth rank, Youzhou, Shangzhou, Shangzhou Changshi, from the fifth rank.

This relegation directly demoted a senior level.

"This is His Majesty's opinion, written by the Queen himself." Liu Boying's indifferent words completely blocked the future prospects of Hu Zai and Zheng Fan.

Hu Zai is fine, he is the prince's man after all, if the prince ascends the throne in the future, maybe he will be recalled directly.

But Zheng Fan was finished. The emperor was not happy, the queen was disgusted, and the prince was disgusted. In addition, although the Zheng family was not involved in the matter of concealing the princess, it still made the emperor and empress remember it.

It's fine if they keep silent, once they show up, they will be hit directly.

Li Huaiyan felt awe-inspiring, his family was only one step away.

On the contrary, Liu Sili said a little puzzled: "The lower officials are a little unclear. The Zheng family and the Lu family are not confused. Why did they act recklessly at this time?"

You must know that the demotion of Hu Zai and Zheng Fan is not the end, on the contrary, it is just the beginning. The future official careers of Zheng and Lu's governors, county magistrates in local states will be affected.

"It looks like a random move, but it's not a smart way to retreat." Liu Boying said calmly, and then took the lead to walk away.

When Li Huaiyan and Liu Sili heard this, they couldn't understand why.

Why is it not a random act, but a smart way to retreat?
Is there something they don't understand?
……

Walking alone on Huangcheng Avenue, Li Xuan was also thinking about this question.

Li Xuan also just got it from Li Xian just now, the prince Zhongsheren Hu Zai was demoted to be the governor of Bozhou, and the secretary Shaojian Zheng Fan was demoted to the governor of Youzhou.

The Emperor and Empress Wu acted very quickly. Almost immediately after last night, they found out who was behind the scenes and made a decision overnight.

What Li Xuan didn't understand was why Zheng Fan and Hu Zai immediately packed their bags and left without any hesitation after the emperor gave the order.

Even before the morning court began, the two left Chang'an with their families.

It's like they've been waiting for this result for a long time.

Now among the four people on his list, only Zhou Zhi and Cui Fan are left.

Li Xuan couldn't help but wonder if the contents of the list in his hand had been leaked, making people alert.

That's why he broke his arm so quickly to survive.

This incomparably neat method is too familiar.

However, the matter of Zheng Fan and Hu Zai came second, what Li Xuan really cared about was Zhou Zhi.

Now, although all the Qianniu Guards and Jinwu Guards around Zhou Zhi have disappeared, he is always under Li Xuan's surveillance.

Of course Li Xuan would not appear in front of him to monitor him, he just arranged Qianniuwei and Jinwuwei out of Zhou Zhi's sight.

There are only three places Zhou Zhi goes to on weekdays, Menxia Province, Pingkangfang, and home.

So as long as people are placed outside this route, Zhou Zhi will naturally not see anything on this road on weekdays, but once he deviates from the daily route, he will be stared at immediately, and he may not be able to find out.

Others, if they want to get close to Zhou Zhi, all of them will be checked from a long distance away.

Zhou Zhi is the turtle in the urn, there are people watching Li Xuan inside and outside, what he suspects now is somewhere else.

Nowadays, the higher the official position of the people in contact, it seems that these people are more cautious, and immediately decisively cut off their tails to survive if there is any trouble.

Just like Lu Shi and Zheng Shi, Li Xuan didn't know where he was showing his flaws, which made them smell the wind.

If they continue to stay in Chang'an, even if the entire family is not copied, if they are found to be related to Tubo, the entire family will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

But everything is different now. As long as they can erase all the previous traces, then naturally no one will track them down, and there is a high possibility that nothing can be tracked down.

Li Xuan is really suspicious now, because some of his secret actions now have been noticed by Lu Shi and Zheng Shi.

But how could this be possible, Li Xuan was terribly careful in doing things this time, even Ming Chongyan didn't know the real manpower used inside and out, let alone other people.

Could it be that it was really just because he suspected something was wrong that he immediately cut off all contact with other people?

Although Li Xuan was extremely unwilling to believe it, it was also the most possible possibility.

In addition, it is the most unlikely possibility, that is, these actions he secretly planned, and these things he is doing now, have really been known by a few people.

It is impossible for the internal core to leak secrets, because these people in his core have always been guarded against the palace.

If something goes wrong with these people, Gongzai must be the first to know.

Since it was Lu and Zheng Shi who behaved abnormally this time, not the palace, this means that someone among the people he secretly manipulated on the outside leaked the secret.

For countless years, the aristocratic families have married each other, and the disciples and old officials are all over the world.

No one knows where the people he is using are related to?

Lesson learned.

"It's really interesting to be able to pay attention to people in that area. These aristocratic families are all really scary." Although Li Xuan was extremely secretive, and even those people didn't know what he wanted to do, but the bystanders were clear and caring. As long as you know who he is moving, you can immediately connect everything together.

Already alarmed the snake.

But fortunately, the surprised snake was the one he hunted.

The snake is still hiding behind everything, watching everything with vigilance.

If he was given enough time, he might actually be able to see through the secret behind this, but unfortunately, he didn't have much time.

Li Xuan stood in front of the gate of the household department, took a deep look inside, then turned and left.

……

Qujiang Pond, Qujiang Pavilion, and Qujiang Banquet.

Li Xuan sat on a tall horse, followed by Li Zhu, surrounded by several Qianniu guards closely guarding her.

On the street, clean and brightly dressed men and women, as well as merchants and vendors carrying various snacks, began to gradually gather towards Qujiang.

Over the years, the Qujiang Banquet hosted by the imperial court for failed students and new scholars has gradually become a large-scale recreational activity in Chang'an.

Li Xuan didn't move fast on horseback, and smiled as she watched a failed student and a new Jinshi arrive.

Earlier than them are the official officials who admitted them at this moment and many officials under him.

In name, they are the tutors of these new Jinshi, and they are qualified to accept the thanks of their students.

Of course, Li Xuan is also qualified, although it is a bit biased, but there are some, but there are only a few of them.

In addition to Xinke Jinshi, other officials and relatives and friends of Xinke Jintu came here to congratulate.

Some dignitaries even brought their wives and young ladies to find a good son-in-law among the young newcomers.

Although it is not popular nowadays to catch a son-in-law, unmarried Jinshi among the new Jinshi are the most popular figures in the entire Tang Dynasty today.

The whole Qujiang Garden is full of tin, car, bead and saddles, golden whips and jade stirrups, red men and dolls, all coming here one after another.

(End of this chapter)