first minister

Chapter 223 One question and three answers
"Your Majesty, the Spring Festival Banquet must have started right now?"

In Changle Palace, the female officer said while helping Concubine De with the ingredients for herbal diet.

Consort De concubine hummed lightly.

Seeing that the empress seemed worried and not interested, the female officer quickly explained, "His Royal Highness the King of Jiaodong County is very intelligent, and he has Mr. Xia with him. He was able to change the mind of the three old gentlemen before. He must have something to say to the three old gentlemen. This time, His Highness will definitely be accepted by the three old gentlemen. Maybe the three gentlemen will still rush to ask for it!"

There are not many mothers who don't like to hear other people's compliments on their sons, even Concubine De, who has always been very sensitive and vigilant to these words, is no exception. She forced a laugh and silently went about her work.

She naturally has complete trust in Xia Jingyun, has full confidence in his ability, and quite agrees with the female officer's words, but...
If it hadn't been for the news from yesterday, and the arrival of the great Confucianist from Longshou Prefecture who is Mr. Wan Lin's disciple, all of this would be great.

After all, he is the real Wenkui of Yizhou. In terms of talent, reputation, and familiarity with the three old gentlemen, Xia Jingyun, a fledgling young man, cannot match him!

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but blame herself for her recklessness. If she had been more cautious, she wouldn't have made the situation so bad.

Gradually, her movements slowed down, and worry quietly climbed up between her beautiful eyebrows, and then slowly invaded the entire Changle Palace.

"Your Majesty, your complexion is ruddy today, your face is full of smiles, and you seem to be in a good mood?"

In the imperial garden, Concubine Shu, who was dressed in a purple palace dress, was surrounded by several court ladies, and walked slowly with steps that were obviously dignified but somewhat coquettish and charming.

Hearing the court lady's flattery, she immediately smiled, "Can I not be happy? Today, my Shao'er will become the closed disciple of the Three Masters of Tushan. From then on, Shilin's prestige, talent and learning progress, and network support, all of which will not reach the sky in one step. Let me see how that bitch competes with me!"

The master and servant are one, and the maid naturally did not feel sorry for Concubine De and Jiaodong County King. She smiled and said: "There is a concubine inside, and the Duke of the country outside. Your Highness is so smart, they are powerless to compete with the concubine!"

Concubine Shu snorted softly, obviously agreeing with this conclusion.

"However, Madam, I heard that Concubine De's brother-in-law has repeatedly made outstanding achievements, will he make some kind of moth again this time?"

Concubine Shu sneered, "Luck doesn't always favor a person. This time, my father hired a really powerful expert. In front of the public, he relied on his real skills. He's just a young man who hasn't even been selected by Chunwei. How could he compare to the real masters in the literary world?"

She lazily stretched her waist, and at the same time stretched her attractive figure, she dispelled the spring sleepiness, "Concubine De's foundation is shallow after all, even if she can reach this level, she can't do anything, she can only rely on this brat. Think for me, after this matter, what should I say to her, so that I can avenge the hatred in my heart that day."

Several maids laughed lightly, helping with suggestions, chirping like sparrows, hiding in the depths of the flowers.

"Gao Yi."

"His Majesty."

Leaning on the soft bed, Emperor Chongning, who was casually flipping through various documents handed over from the center and the secret report from the Black Ice Platform, raised his head, "Has the Imperial College started?"

"Return to Your Majesty, it's time for the Spring Festival banquet to begin, and it's time now."

"Well, do you think the prince can handle this errand well?"

Gao Yi rolled up his sleeves, but remained silent.

"Slippery or not, I dare not answer this question!"

Emperor Chongning pretended to be angry and cursed, "Then who do you think can become the disciple of those three old gentlemen, the King of Jiaodong or the King of Linjiang?"

Gao Yi cupped his hands, "Both your highnesses are dragons and phoenixes among men, and they have talents and sages to help them, so it's not a problem if you think about it."

"You..." Emperor Chongning looked at this old thing speechlessly, and said softly to himself: "Lv Lifeng, someone I didn't even invite to move, but was invited to move by the Lu family, you really have a bit of talent!"

Gao Yi lowered his head slightly and remained silent.

"Xia Jingyun may find it difficult this time. It's also good for young people to beat and beat, so as not to be arrogant and suffer even greater difficulties in the future."

He twisted a piece of pastry, put it in his mouth, and then looked at the memorial again.
-
In the square of the Imperial College, the thick and distant shouts slowly dissipated, causing everyone's heartbeat to speed up involuntarily.

It was said to be a Spring Festival banquet, but everyone knew what the topic of today was, so no one was thinking about eating and drinking after hearing the words, they all turned their heads and looked at the stage quietly.

His Royal Highness, the presiding prince in name, just sat with a smile, without the slightest thought of overwhelming the host.

The first one to stand up was not Mr. Linxi, who was always in charge of external affairs among the three masters of Tushan, but Mr. Wan Lin, who in my impression was quite talkative.

He first got up and waved his sleeves to salute everyone, and everyone avoided the table and got up to return the salute.

Then, in the field of vision, he said in a clear voice: "The three of us, we were originally devoted to farming in the countryside, and we did not seek to be famous for being distinguished. However, the Holy Son of Heaven does not regard us as despicable, and loves us more; the concubine of virtue does not think we are superficial, and always looks favorably. I beg, the three of us, although our talents are weak and our knowledge is shallow, we are willing to spread our knowledge to the world and spread the word to all living beings. Let us hold this feast today, choose the best to teach, and live up to the emperor, and live up to the descendants; live up to the king, live up to the common people; live up to the desire of the world’s scholars to strive for learning, and live up to our ambition of asking questions in the past.”

Then Mr. Kongbi also stood up, and said in his characteristic rough and bold voice: "Today's scholars, the desire to seek official positions in the imperial examinations is gradually fading, the desire to respect teachers and learn from them is declining, and the number of state students is decreasing year by year. I would like to use myself as a candle to illuminate the light in the dark room. I hope that from now on, everyone in the world will learn from them, and everyone will respect their teachers, so that the style of writing will prosper and the country will flourish! This is my responsibility, and I will encourage you all!"

Finally, Mr. Linxi, who was sitting in the middle, also stood up and smiled slightly, "The two of them have said everything they need to say, but I'm not as educated, and my eloquence is not as good as theirs, so I won't talk so much."

Everyone calmed down from the impassioned and solemn atmosphere before, laughing and laughing, and the atmosphere in the field suddenly became lighter.

"Let me just talk about the rules for accepting apprentices this time."

"The three of us will ask a question each, and all those who pass the primary election will write their answers on paper, and the person who will accompany the exam can answer."

"Why is this so? Because the person who can come to accompany the exam must be someone who is recognized and listened to by the student. The level of knowledge and vision of this person will directly affect the character and ability of the student. In addition, some students are still young and not good at learning. It is reasonable for someone to refer to them."

Speaking of this, he looked softly at the dozen or so lonely teenagers behind the case table, "There is no absolute fairness in everything in this world, but you have to believe that with your own ability, you will not lose to others. If your ability is not good enough, that is the motivation for our hard work."

Seeing those teenagers who were slightly displeased gradually calm down, he said loudly: "In the end, the three of us will select the last five people who are the most pleasing to the eye and the most pleasing to the eye, and they will be admitted."

Xia Jingyun and everyone understood immediately after hearing it, anyway, it meant that the final interpretation right belonged to the three old gentlemen.

At this moment, a dignitary couldn't help but said: "Three gentlemen, it's not fair. You're all here, so what's the point? You three just decide!"

"Bold! This is Mr. accepting apprentices, why not let them decide for themselves!"

Before the three old men could speak, His Royal Highness, who was smiling indifferently, turned cold and scolded!
Everyone couldn't help but stared at the man speechlessly.

Mr. Linxi ignored him at all, but said indifferently: "This first question, I will start with the old man."

The huge square was silent for a moment, and countless pairs of eyes were fixed on Mr. Linxi, waiting for the first key question of this world Wenzong's apprentice grand meeting, all excited and curious.

Xia Jingyun also raised his head, and at the table next to him, Lu Lifeng, the great scholar of Longshou Prefecture, also had burning eyes.

The crown prince, British prince, and Guozijian all waited quietly, and no one urged them.

"My problem is that there are princes, county kings, high-ranking officials, and traffickers here. Their identities, abilities, and temperaments are all very different. If you can enter my sect, how should you deal with yourself?"

Everyone was taken aback after listening, what is the problem?
Not difficult, but so simple?
This is almost really a question that a child with a little sense can answer!
However, Lu Lifeng seemed to have expected it. He understood that the selection of students by these three masters in the literary world, who can be called Wen Zong, really didn't care about your previous ability.

Mr. Linxi didn't seem to see the surprise of the crowd, and said with a smile: "For a quarter of an hour, everyone, please answer!"

Everyone immediately grabbed their pens, licked the ink, and began to write on the paper.

Dongfang Bai waited for a while, but didn't see Xia Jingyun start writing, so he touched it quietly, and whispered: "Uncle?"

Xia Jingyun turned to look at him, and whispered in his ear: "Let me think about it."

Sitting on the high platform, Ying Yinggong saw that Lu Daru was already helping his grandson to write quickly, while Xia Jingyun was still there dumbfounded, and his heart felt light.

Of course he knew that such a simple question would not bother the young man who claims to be the winner of this year's Chunwei, but he is also a smart person who understands that sometimes, cleverness is mistaken by cleverness.

On the other side of the stand, many people in Sishui Prefecture naturally paid more attention to the situation of Xia Jingyun and the King of Jiaodong County. Seeing that Xia Jingyun did not write for a long time, they were unavoidably anxious.

"Don't worry, Gao Yang is definitely fine, he's just thinking about it right now!"

Xu Dapeng comforted everyone, but with the passage of time, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Dongfang Bai in the field was the most nervous, but at the age of six, he unexpectedly withstood the pressure and anxiety, sat calmly on the futon, neither rushing nor making trouble.

I don't know how long it took before Xia Jingyun asked Dongfang Bai to pick up the pen, and then held his little hand with his hand, as if teaching to write, slowly and leisurely wrote a line of words on the paper.

When he puts down the pen, the spring breeze blows through the ink, and the bell that indicates the time is up will also ring.

Two young men who had served in Tushan walked down, put away 36 answers, and handed them in.

When he received the answers from Xia Jingyun and Jiaodong County King, he couldn't help being slightly startled.

This subtle anomaly has not escaped the eyes of many keen minded people.

The British man couldn't help laughing, it seems that he was clever but was mistaken by cleverness!
His Highness the Crown Prince's face was calm, but he looked straight at this young man who had become so famous that he had heard about it, not knowing what answer he could give.

Xia Jingyun was an old god, and even pulled Dongfang Bai to whisper a few words, as if he was quite confident in his answer.

All the results will be announced by these three old gentlemen.

Mr. Linxi read through these manuscripts one by one, and took out a few sheets from time to time and put them aside. Everyone watched eagerly, but they didn't even know whether the ones that were sorted out were selected or eliminated.

After making a selection, Mr. Linxi discussed with Mr. Wan Lin and Mr. Kongbi, and let them see the answers he had chosen.

The whole process took about the time of a cup of tea.

Then Mr. Linxi cleared his throat, "There are more than ten copies that are exactly as the old man intended. Time is limited, so I won't recite them one by one. I will choose the best three copies and share them with you."

He picked up the first copy and handed it to the disciple beside him, who then read aloud with interest: "Students are here to study, no matter whether they are rich or powerful, they are all dust to the master, and it is not important to the students. The three gentlemen taught five disciples. With the wisdom of the master, the students can devote themselves to studying without worrying about being bullied by them, or worrying about being attached to them. Therefore, this matter is not worth mentioning. Just stick to your heart and not lose your ambition to learn." The student Xun Feihong nodded."

After the disciple finished reading, Mr. Linxi smiled and said, "How do you guys think the answer is?"

The prince smiled at this time and said: "Such a transparent wisdom, such a pure heart, such an ingenious answer, Mr. Linxi's eyes and talents, it is really a good story."

Everyone was quite surprised when they heard this spittle at first, but after thinking about it carefully, it was indeed the case.

The most important thing is that the person who answered the questionnaire dared to write such an answer at such a time. This kind of transparent and exquisite heart is indeed remarkable.

Even Xia Jingyun couldn't help being curious about who this student named Xun Feihong was, and he might be able to achieve something in the future.

Mr. Linxi did not disclose it, but picked up the second copy, "This one is also very well written, please listen to it."

"You don't need to read the irrelevant nonsense before, just read the main text."

The disciple nodded and took it, cleared his throat, and said: "Knowing its value, think of self-respect and self-reliance; knowing its strength, thinking of self-respect and not committing crimes; thinking of its poverty, thinking of surplus and helping each other; feeling weak, thinking of no deception and helping each other; thinking of food and clothing, thinking of no difference so that you can be at ease; seeing it as a rush, thinking of the original heart and concentrating on it; Take self-denial as a role model; think about their hard work, and think about imitating them to spur them together. In summary, this journey of ten thoughts, judging people from all over the world, rich and poor, strong and weak, each doing their best, will be able to learn the avenues of the three schools together, and become a good story of the same school."

He paused, and read out the signature, "The King of Linjiang County, Dongfangtai."

Everyone nodded their heads again and again, and when they heard the person who answered the question, there was a burst of clamor and applause in the arena, especially the loudest voice from the dignitaries' stand.

Lu Rusong Laohuai stroked his beard in satisfaction, and looked at his family member sitting upright in the arena with satisfaction.

Sure enough, as soon as an expert makes a move, he will know if there is one.

Xu Dapeng and other people who supported Xia Jingyun immediately became nervous. The strength of the other state's Wenkui was indeed not covered. To write this answer, you need to have literary talent, attitude and attitude.
In the stands, Mr. Linxi smiled, "Looking at everyone's reactions, it seems that I don't need to comment too much, haha."

Everyone chuckled, obviously agreeing.

Xia Jingyun didn't seem to panic at all, turned his head and glanced at Dongfang Bai who was sitting obediently, "Aren't you worried?"

Dongfang Bai calmly sullenly said, "It's useless to worry, so there's no need to worry."

Xia Jingyun smiled, "Good boy."

Seeing that Xia Jingyun was still able to laugh, Lu Rusong narrowed his eyes, and a confidant beside him sneered, "Playing tricks!"

On the table, Mr. Linxi picked up the third piece of paper, "But although the answer just now was good, this old man thinks that this answer is the best."

The disciple on the side wanted to take it, but Mr. Linxi waved his hand, "Just one sentence, I just read it."

In a word?optimal?
Everyone was stunned, and became more and more curious about this sentence.

Mr. Linxi concentrated his attention, and said: "When you see a virtuous person, think about it, and when you see an unvirtuous one, you should introspect yourself!"

He glanced at everyone, and said slowly: "The answerer is Dongfang Bai."

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and then thought about it carefully, it seemed that there was indeed some subtle meaning in it.

Seeing the virtuous and thinking of the same, seeing the unvirtuous and introspecting, indeed contains a lot of content, and even the vast majority of Linjiang Junwang's answer just now is covered by this sentence, which is indeed much better than the first answer. However, if you want to say that this can definitely become the best, it seems a bit unfair to Linjiang Junwang, right?
"Sir! The student dares to ask, sir, why is this answer the best?"

Just when everyone was suspicious, Lv Lifeng, a great scholar of Longshou Prefecture who accompanied the examination for the king of Linjiang County, questioned, with four words clearly written on his face: This is not fair!

　Several paragraphs in it are written by myself, which is really a bit of a brain drain.

　　I have little talent and learning, and some mistakes and omissions are just for everyone to read. It’s still the same sentence, if I really want to write something at the same level as the articles that have been passed down through the ages, I will not write web articles.

　　This stuff is a bit labor-intensive, and the next chapter will grind it out slowly.

　　or2
　　
　
(End of this chapter)