The days when I ransacked the house in Jinyiwei

Chapter 329 Chang Feng ranks tenth among the top two on the gold list

Changfeng pays tribute, which means that he is about to be crowned Jinshi. Because the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty did not eliminate tributes. Even if he came last in the imperial examination, he was from the same rank as a Jinshi.

Needless to say, Chang Feng studied hard every night while waiting for the imperial examination.

On the day of the palace examination, a group of tributes gathered outside Fengtian Gate according to their rankings on the apricot list. Changfeng naturally ranked last.

Later, the doctor of the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette led 249 tributes to Fengtian Hall. The tributes were arranged on the east and west sides of Danqi according to their odd and even numbers, standing facing north.

The civil and military officials of the imperial court were dressed in court uniforms and stood in the middle of the two rows of tributes.

Liu Jin, the chief seal officer of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, called the emperor's name on behalf of the emperor. After confirming that everyone was present, the singing officer of Honglu Temple invited the emperor to sit in the palace three times.

Only then did Emperor Zhengde enter the Fengtian Palace wearing his royal robes. Twelve Han generals in front of Guangting fired the "quiet whip".

The static whip was not exclusive to the Qing Dynasty. Maybe there were too many Qing palace dramas in later generations, which led to misunderstanding among the world.

In fact, as early as Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, there was already a quiet whip ceremony. The Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties followed it.

The silent whip, as the name suggests, "cries to make a sound to express silence."

This is like the leaders of later generations who talk nonsense in meetings. There must be a sycophant who picked up the microphone and reminded everyone: "Please be silent, everyone applauds to welcome leader XX's important instructions."

All civil and military officials and tributes paid three obeisances and nine kowtows to Emperor Zhengde.

The palace examination only tests policy theory. The emperor himself set the topic. Questions from the general examination may be leaked, but not from the palace examination.

Emperor Zhengde issued an edict: "Promulgate policy questions."

A group of young officials placed 249 test questions on the question plan.

Among these two hundred and forty-nine examination questions, one was drawn up by Emperor Zhengde in the Qianqing Palace two moments ago. The remaining 248 copies were all copied by junior officials.

The test questions written by the emperor himself will be stamped with the seal of the emperor's treasure.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had seventeen jade seals, such as the Emperor's Fengtian Treasure, the Emperor's Treasure, the Emperor's Trust Treasure, and the Emperor's Treasure.

Among them, the emperor's treasure is the most noble. Because this seal is the seal of the Tang Dynasty, it was passed down to the Song Dynasty. Jingkang was robbed by the Jin Dynasty and was captured by the Mongols when they destroyed the Jin Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was listed as one of the Yuan Emperor's jade seals.

At the beginning of Hongwu, Xu Da conquered Dadu and reached a tacit agreement with Emperor Yuan Shun. Emperor Yuan Shun could "hunt north" with all his ministers and treasures. The Ming army did not intervene. It belongs to the Ming Dynasty version of the peaceful liberation of Peiping.

But Xu Da only asked Emperor Yuan Shun to keep the emperor's treasure and not take it away. Because it represents the orthodoxy of the Chinese Dynasty.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would only use this treasure when issuing edicts during important national ceremonies.

The imperial examination was also one of the important ceremonies of the Ming Dynasty, known as the "National Talent Recruitment Ceremony".

Closer to home, the examination questions written by the emperor himself bear the seal of the emperor’s treasure. The remaining 248 transcripts have no titles.

If you think about it, you will know that the test questions written by the emperor are an extremely important souvenir. Generally, this exam question will give the first place on the apricot list.

But very strange. Today, the emperor's handwriting was not given to the person who ranked first on the apricot list. Instead, it was given to Chang Feng, who was sitting at the rightmost position in the last row.

Wei Bin, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, personally placed the emperor's autograph in Chang Feng's hand. He lowered his voice and said, "Master Chang, take the exam well. The emperor is looking forward to you very much."

Chang Feng did not answer, but nodded slightly.

Liu Jin, the chief seal officer of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, sang loudly: "The palace examination for the third year of Zhengde is about to begin!"

Candidates and deacons began to get busy.

The regulations set by the Hongwu Dynasty. The chief examiner of the palace examination is the emperor, and the subordinate examiners are the examiners and deacons.

Deacons are further divided into record-keeping officers, promotion officers, supervisors and examiners, record-receiving officers, inspection officers, sealing officers, sealing officers, and supply officers. Everyone performs their duties.

Chang Feng opened the pen and ink box he brought.

During the examination, candidates will bring pen and ink cartridges and food boxes.

For the palace examination, you only need to bring your own pen and ink box, which contains twelve sheets of straw paper and twelve pieces of square paper.

No need to bring food boxes. When I go to the emperor's house to take an exam, the emperor always has to take care of the meal.

The policy discussion takes a whole day.

At noon, the official Mi Feng said loudly: "Seal the paper, Your Majesty will give you a lunch. After the lunch, you can continue to answer the paper."

Chang Feng, a group of tributes, and a group of examiners came to the front courtyard. A luncheon prepared by the stupid cook from Guanglu Temple has been laid out in the front courtyard.

The luncheon given by the tributes was quite sumptuous.

There is one table for every five tributes. Each table has five plates of fruits, five plates of tea and snacks, one plate of snacks, two soups, one vat of rice, four-color dishes, and five glasses of wine.

That's right, you can drink at noon after taking the Gongshi exam halfway.

But no one dares to touch the wine clock. If you drink too much and a speck of ink stains your paper in the middle of the night, you will end up at the bottom of the top three.

No one touched the seasonal fruits. In case I have a bad stomach, I will try my best to relax in the afternoon and unzip my trouser pockets. That would be embarrassing for Dafa.

As for the food provided by the examiners, it was much worse. Each person has two steamed buns and a bowl of soup.

After an hour, everyone finished eating hastily.

Liu Jin came to Qianguangting: "After the luncheon, enter the hall and the exam will begin!"

Chang Feng followed the tributes into the palace. Continue to answer.

It wasn't until the evening that the officer who received the document shouted: "The hour is over. Accept the document!"

All the tributes left the case one after another and bowed and kowtowed towards the empty dragon chair.

Generally speaking, emperors who respected literati in the past, such as Emperor Hongzhi, would sit in Fengtian Hall from early morning until dusk when they took the examination papers.

Emperor Zhengde was a feather duster - he couldn't sit still. After sitting for half an hour in the morning, he moved to the leopard room to study martial arts with a group of adopted sons and cadres.

After receiving the scroll, all the tributes were not in a hurry to leave.

Liu Jin said loudly: "There is an edict to grant a dinner party!"

Candidates are also responsible for a meal in the evening.

This meal is countless times richer than the lunch meal. The person in charge of the dinner was changed from Guanglu Temple to the Ministry of Etiquette.

The reception specifications for 249 people are: one deer, two pigs, three sheep, twelve geese, seventy kilograms of braised pork, thirty dou of Jiangnan tribute rice, three Jinhua hams, one hundred eggs, and tofu. Fifty stacks, twenty bottles of oil and vinegar, six catties of sauce, ten catties of salt, fifty catties of fine powder, one catty of Sichuan peppercorns, one catty of pepper, five catties of mushrooms, six catties of sesame oil, and ninety bottles of wine.

As soon as the dinner started, Liu Jin called Chang Feng outside the hall.

Everyone in the court was afraid of establishing an emperor and did not dare to behave inappropriately in front of him. Chang Feng was different. When he followed Liu Jin out, he was still holding a rice cake in his hand and chewing it as he walked.

Outside the hall, Liu Jin asked with a smile: "How did you do in the exam?"

Chang Feng said: "That's it. It should be ranked lower than the top three."

Liu Jin sighed: "Oh. The top three are enough! It also fulfills your half-life wish."

Chang Feng said, "I should actually thank you. You just need to tell the people below. I'm afraid my exam paper will be ignited by candles like Yang Shen's during the exam."

Liu Jin waved his hand: "I have never meant to harm you. I beg you, don't be my enemy again, how about that?"

"We are still the same as before, shouldn't we be as close as one family? As long as you want the power of the imperial court, just nod your head and I will give you half of it!"

"I can manage the three factories and one guard for you. Even if you want to lead troops, I will give you half of the world's guards." Chang Feng smiled bitterly: "It's not that I want to be your enemy. It's you who are fighting against the world. Be an enemy!”

Liu Jin's expression changed: "So, you still don't want to reconcile with me?"

Chang Feng's words are ambiguous: "If you are a virtuous eunuch, I am willing to be your right-hand man. If you are a traitor, I can only be your enemy."

Liu Jin sneered: "What is virtuous and what is traitorous? Who can tell clearly?"

"Like Old Interior Minister Huai En, who persuaded the late emperor to bow his head to the civil servants, is that a virtuous thing?"

"I think it would be wise to be like Wang Zhi, who suppressed civil servants for Xianzong and made ministerial power subordinate to imperial power!"

Chang Feng responded tit for tat: "At least the old Interior Minister Hua En did not take bribes, did not engage in illegal activities, did not frame up, and did not kill people like crazy!"

"Listen to my advice. You have the ambition to be Wang Zhi, but you don't have the talent to be Wang Zhi. If you continue like this, you won't be Wang Zhi, and you will become Wang Zhen!"

Liu Jin shook his head: "It's not enough to say nothing. That's all, you can go back."

After the dinner, Chang Feng and the tributes went back to their respective homes, needless to say.

Under the leadership of Wang Hao, the file readers began to get busy. After an all-nighter and an afternoon, at noon the next day, the officials rated the first, second, and third-class papers, and tied for first, second, and third place.

In nominal terms, the emperor set the questions for the palace examination and the emperor graded the papers. In fact, how can the emperor have time to read two to three hundred examination papers?

The ranking is determined by the examiner. But the emperor would randomly check the test papers and make slight adjustments to the rankings. But there is no ranking for the first, first and third papers. In other words, whether the number one, number two, or top pick is still the emperor's arbitrary decision.

Chang Feng's ranking was ranked fifth from the bottom of the top three by Wang Hao and others.

It doesn't matter if you can't take the test or the palace test. It is a duel between the top question makers of the Ming Dynasty. Chang Feng's previous ranking at the bottom of the apricot list was both a matter of luck and extraordinary performance.

Inside the Wenhua Hall. Emperor Zhengde began to look at the rankings.

He first decided that the first place in the first class was Lu Nan. The second place in the first class is Jing Yang. The third overall pick in the first-level championship is Dai Dabin.

Looking down at the list of top two, he found that the names of the two people he focused on were not in the top two. One is in the constant wind, and the other is in the scorched yellow.

A moment later, he saw Chang Feng fifth from the bottom and Zhuang Zhong first in the last column of the top three rankings.

Because the brown paper is really unreadable. Not to mention the sloppy handwriting, it still makes no sense.

Wang Hao was a little doubtful about his life: How did this person get judged and paid tribute?

The examiners, cabinet, six ministries and nine ministers were all waiting for the emperor's final ranking decision.

Emperor Zhengde said: "Chang Feng's ranking is too low. In my opinion, his articles are really good. It is really inappropriate to be listed behind the top three. In my opinion, let's rank him as the tenth in the top two!"

Ranking 10th in the second division, to put it bluntly, is 13th in the national unified examination.

Since the Chenghua Dynasty, there has been an unwritten rule. If you want to join the cabinet, you must have been a shujishi. If you want to be a Shujishi, you generally have to get the top ten rankings in the second class in the palace examination.

Of course, there are some examples, such as someone who looks like Jin Dong, has the aura of a veteran cadre, and has a majestic appearance. Even if you are not in the top ten of the second league, you can still be selected as a Shujishi.

None of the ministers objected. Only Jiao Fang stood up: "Your Majesty, something seems wrong. The examiner listed him as one hundred and thirty-two in the top three, but you ranked him as tenth in the top two. There is a huge difference in ranking. Spread the word , for fear that some people will spread gossip and falsely say that the emperor is nepotistic."

Emperor Zhengde looked at Jiao Fang with a smile: "If you don't nepotize others, how can you nepotize others? Yes, I just want to promote my uncle. Who dares to gossip?"

"Not only do I want to lift Chang Feng to the second class, but I also want to lift your eldest son Zhuohuang Zhong to be the first in the second class!"

Emperor Zhengde was indeed a bit foolish on this point. He regarded the fame of the imperial court and the famous utensils of the country as rewards for his ministers.

Jiao Fang is a villain, charming and charming, and not only obeys Liu Jin's advice, but also obeys the advice of Emperor Zhengde. Emperor Zhengde was very satisfied with him as the second minister in the cabinet. I have long wanted to give him a heavy reward.

After hearing this, Jiao Fang didn't have any objections? He was so excited that he knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Jiao Fang knows better than anyone what level her son is. Being able to win the first place in the second class of the palace examination is like the ancestral grave being struck by lightning.

Jiao Fang took care of the examinations for scholars and candidates in Jiaohuang High School. Liu Jin's junior eunuch Xiang assisted me when I was grading the examination papers.

He had been thinking before that there was nothing he could do about the imperial examination. With my son's talent and learning, I might only be able to get the last place in the top three.

Who would have thought that Emperor Zhengde would appoint him as the first in the second class?

The ranking in the imperial examination is equivalent to the academic qualifications of future generations.

In later generations, promotion in officialdom depended on academic qualifications. It was even more the same in the Ming Dynasty. Your ranking in the imperial examination determines your promotion ceiling.

There is no ceiling for being number one in the second-tier A class. You can even sit in the position of chief minister, below one person and above ten thousand people.

Emperor Zhengde said: "Then let's settle it. Put Zhuohuang Zhong first in the second class, Chang Feng tenth in the second class, and the rest will be ranked accordingly."

Chang Feng spent the whole day at home waiting for the newspaper to deliver the good news.

He even had the feeling that Liu Xiaoyan had difficulty giving birth to Chang Po Nu.

Liu Xiaoyan and Mrs. Ninth accompanied him to wait for the newspaper, and they were also very anxious.

Suddenly, a gong sounded.

Chang Feng rushed to the gate, followed closely by Liu Xiaoyan and Mrs. Ninth.

The newspaper shouted: "But the people of Shuntian Mansion are often slaughtered, Master Chang Feng's house is often?"

Chang Feng is really famous in Beijing. The newspaper went smoothly and actually called out his nickname.

Chang Feng smiled and said: "I am."

The newspaper shouted: "Congratulations to Mr. Chang, congratulations to Mr. Chang. He ranked tenth in the top two in the imperial examination in the third year of Zhengde High School!"

Chang Feng seemed to be unable to believe his ears: "Tell me, how many names are there?"

Baozi replied: "Top two and tenth!"

Chang Feng froze on the spot.

Liu Xiaoyan and Madam Ninth began to roll up their sleeves.

Chang Ponu and Huang Yuan were both at the Yamen on errands. When Chang Ponu left home this morning, he repeatedly told his mother and daughter that if the news comes, they must slap their father in the mouth, both front and back, to prevent the phlegm from getting into his mind.

Don't wait for the two of them to take action. Chang Feng suddenly slapped his two big buttocks, and then shouted: "Beast, what did you hit?"

The ceremony of fixing the names of the Chang family members on the gold list ended.

Chang Feng smiled and said: "Xiaoyan, Jiu'er, I won't bother you to do anything."

Chang Fengshen predicted that Liu Xiaoyan and Mrs. Ninth would be in trouble.

The two had no choice but to put down their palms that had been raised in the air.

After reporting the rankings in the newspaper, he did not leave, but held up his hands to ask for rewards.

Chang Feng was quite grand: "Xiao Yan, hurry up and grab a handful of golden melon seeds given to me by the late emperor, and give them as a reward!"

Liu Xiaoyan said: "Okay! Baozi, please wait a moment!"

Baozi was moved from ear to ear. Ordinary Jinshi would only be rewarded with a silver ingot or silver coin, but for those from a modest family background, they would only be rewarded with a few pieces of silver.

Baozi secretly thought: Butcher Chang’s family is still rich! Bounty melon seeds directly! Otherwise, Governor Chang of Jinyiwei is a well-known benefactor in the capital!

(End of this chapter)