Ping An Biography

It was already a bit cold in October in the capital, and the people from the Hu Mansion sent a set of blue cotton padded jackets, but Zhang Ning felt that the padded jackets were too thick and he had no upper body, so he still wore moon white straight with a square scarf.

Waking up early in the morning, the lame old cousin Yan came and said to Zhang Ning, "Mr. Hu is back. If Mr. Zhang has nothing else to do today, please meet him at the teahouse."

"I'm quite free today, so let's go." Zhang Ning cupped his hands, and he thought to himself that I'm free not only today, but also every day.

"Please, sir." Old Cousin Yan said angrily, stretched out his hand and made a powerful movement, which made Zhang Ning suddenly feel that this person had the temperament of a martial artist.

Guided by Yan, Zhang Ning went out and walked along a corridor to the teahouse.As soon as I entered the door, I saw a man in his fifties waiting inside, probably Hu Ying.I saw that Hu Ying has a broad face, a square forehead, and a burly figure, plus her sitting posture and demeanor is full of righteousness.His temples were already grizzled, he had a thick gray beard on his mouth, and he was wearing a linen Taoist robe. He didn't have the elegant temperament of a Taoist priest, but he had an official look on his face.This person has a square face and a straight body, which is not very good-looking in Zhang Ning's eyes, but he knows that such a face is a real high-quality face in the Ming Dynasty.

"Here comes Ping An, sit down." Hu Ying pointed to the lower chair kindly.

Such a sentence made Zhang Ning slightly flattered.For example, Mr. Hu, the current minister of the court, I have lived in his house for more than a month, but I have not seen each other, and when I meet, I can feel the majesty and arrogance of that kind of official, and suddenly treat me like a commoner so politely Talking, it's hard to avoid feeling pretty good.

Zhang Ning didn't dare to put on a big show | Forced by others, he hurriedly bowed his hands respectfully: "Craftsman Zhang Ning sees Mr. Hu."

Hu Ying nodded slightly while sitting, and said: "You are no longer a commoner. The Commander of the Jinyiwei obtained the imperial decree yesterday to personally release your teacher Lu Shilang from the imperial prison and reinstate him as an official. Lu Shilang is innocent, so you are not guilty." For the crime of accepting bribes, the previous punishment of deprivation of merit will naturally be revoked; now you have at least the merit of being a student, and then Lu Shilang will bring your rural examination papers to re-examine, and it is very possible to restore the honor of Juren."

Zhang Ning was overjoyed immediately!Hu Ying is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the nominal teacher Lu Zhen is the vice-minister of the Ministry of Education. Zhang Ning is a teacher and student in need who was shot in a ditch with his old man. The two of them want to restore his fame. A matter of minutes? !

He was about to sit just now, but before his butt touched the chair, he hurriedly stood up again and bowed deeply: "Please be respected by the students, and thank you Lord Hu for upholding justice for your teacher."

Hu Ying waved her hand: "There is no need for that, the emperor is the one who upholds justice. Keshu and I are officials in the same dynasty, and I am just telling the truth." After speaking, she glanced at Old Cousin Yan inside the door, who was limping Walk over slowly and put a few ingots of silver on the tea table.Hu Ying said: "When Ping'an came to the capital, he must have left in a hurry. You don't have to refuse these silver taels, it's considered a gift from the old man who cherishes his talent."

"Thank you, Mr. Hu." Zhang Ning did not refuse as expected. It is true that there is no need to worry about living expenses now. For the sake of what others say, he does not need to waste Mr. Hu's tongue with false politeness.

Hu Ying asked again: "There will be an exam in March next year. Is Ping An planning to go home or stay in the capital and wait for the exam?"

Kaogongshi Jinshi?As far as Zhang Ning knows, the admission rate of Juren Kao Gongshi is less than 5.00%, that is, only one of the 21 talented people who have already obtained the honor of Juren can only pass the exam. If you are a Gongshi, then you will be admitted to Jinshi in the palace examination. You will not fail the palace examination, only high and low).Zhang Ning used to be very conceited, but now Zhang Ning is much more rational: don't say he is the best in the world, according to his [-]-year-old cultivation base, he was also lucky to be selected in the Nanzhili examination. As for Jinshi, it really depends on the grave of the ancestor ;According to previous examples, there are very few young people who are awarded Jinshi in the second year after the Juren examination, and they are generally geniuses. You can guess it in the middle move.

Zhang Ning's judgment is: the chance of being on the list next year is zero.It was originally close to zero, but because of this incident, the examiners who will take the test must avoid suspicion. Besides, Zhang Ning is young and they may think that it is normal to fail the first time; and now I am not interested in studying the four books and stereotyped essays at all. I'm afraid I won't be able to write any good stereotypes next year.So he felt that there was no chance of passing the exam.

So he said truthfully: "Students have no intention of pursuing a career in science."

His temporary plan is to see if he can make some connections with Lu Zhen, and then use the fame of being a juror to become a county magistrate and deputy county magistrate or something. It is not difficult to take a step back and say that it is okay not to be an official. There are property and fields in the hometown, and there are people who have made a name for themselves. It is really not difficult to live a comfortable life.

"Oh?" Hu Ying was a little surprised when she heard that. Young scholars who have been in the cold window for about ten years are all full of hope to go to Jinshi. Zhang Ning is a 21-year-old scholar, and it is really uncommon not to continue the imperial examination.Hu Ying couldn't help asking one more time: "Is it really unintentional to take the imperial examination?"

Zhang Ning said indifferently: "Yes." Obviously, what he said in front of the Minister of Education was definitely not a joke.

Hu Ying stroked her beard and said, "Then do you plan to become an official?"

Zhang Ning said: "If you have the opportunity to serve the country, how dare the students refuse?"

Hu Ying nodded with a smile, pondered for a moment and said, "There are just a number of vacancies for officials. The Ministry of Officials will interview candidates in a few days. You can go and report first. The old man said that if Ping An has the ability, it is not a big problem to fill a position. "

"This..." Zhang Ning was surprised, and looked at the money on the coffee table, "The students really don't know what to do."

Hu Ying laughed: "This old man gave you the money, not you bribed him, so even if you make up for the vacancy, you can't say that this old man sells official porridge."

Zhang Ning suddenly felt that something was wrong. Mr. Hu's cousin was not related to him, and it was nonsense to cherish talents. There were so many people in the world, and even he himself didn't realize where he was talented. point.

According to Zhang Ning's conjecture, Hu Ying might be interested in her relationship with Lu Zhen and even Yang Shiqi.Although he played an insignificant role there, it was precisely because of this that Hu Ying invested without risk, and it was a low-cost investment. 20 taels of silver and a word from the official department were nothing to him... and it can't be blamed Zhang Ning treats the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and other second-rank officials don't spend their days doing nothing to do charity.

Zhang Ning hurriedly thanked him.

Hu Ying said earnestly and earnestly: "You are safe and young, you must guard against arrogance and impetuosity and do something practical for the country and the people in a down-to-earth manner."

"Remember Master Hu's teaching." Zhang Ning cupped his hands.

At this time, Hu Ying picked up the teacup, and Zhang Ning got up in time to leave.

Back in the room, he packed up his things and bid farewell to Cousin Yan, preparing to move out of Hu's residence.Giving money itself has the meaning of asking for money, and it will lose its meaning even if it is here.The cheating case in the examination room has also come to an end for the time being. I am afraid that no one will think about Zhang Ning anymore. The original target is Lu Zhen.

There was nothing to tidy up, Zhang Ning was alone when he came to the capital, and now he only had two sets of clothes and 20 taels of silver, so he could just pack a bag and leave.

Find a place to stay first, the inn is the best choice.Wenmingmen (Chongwenmen) belongs to the east city and is not far from Jinyu Hutong, and the south is an area with more people. Consumer goods are good and cheap, so Zhang Ning went there first to find an inn.Because there is an imperial city in the middle of Beijing, and there is no road between the east and west cities, it is impossible for everyone to pass through the palace, so it is actually quite a detour to go to the west city.He went around Mingshifang and settled down at an inn in Chuanban Hutong.

The room is not expensive, 120 Wen per day for a single room, including two meals in the morning and evening.It is not stingy for Hu Ying to give 20 taels, which is half a year's salary for ordinary people.At this time, one tael of silver can be exchanged for [-] wen, an old copper coin of the same color, and one tael of silver can live in him for half a month.

The next most important thing is to pay a visit to my teacher Lu Zhen. He just came out of the imperial prison, so he has to greet him anyway. Of course, according to the traditional etiquette, he should send some supplements, and the grade should not be too low.The Ming Dynasty also couldn’t help giving gifts. Sometimes local officials sent money directly when they came to Beijing to honor their teachers. It's probably not the mentally handicapped like Hai Rui who must be putting on a show... Besides, Hai Rui raised a large family by himself and couldn't live without it. He may have mainly saved "reciprocity."

Zhang Ning went to a medicinal material store to buy ginseng, and found that the price of the top-quality Shanxi Shangdang ginseng was ten taels of silver per tael, twice as expensive as gold at that time.Of course there are cheaper ones, but Lu Zhenguan is the Minister of Rites, others will eat ginseng like carrots?Good things come in pairs, two sticks of ginseng are packaged, the price is more than 16 taels... I bought it with my teeth.

In an instant, he changed from a household of ten thousand to abject poverty, but the minister Hu Ying is a person who promises everything, and Lu Zhen will not sit idly by, and will become an official anyway.As far as he knows, new officials can receive 50 taels of settlement allowance from the Ministry of Officials when they take office, which is not counted as salary.The Zhu family is relatively stingy, and compared with the previous dynasties, the treatment of officials is low. Unlike the literati in the Song Dynasty, whose annual salary is hundreds of thousands or millions, they are still more humane, and they are very thoughtful. People are so poor that if you pay 50 taels first, it will cost tens of thousands of dollars.

After buying ginseng, Zhang Ning planned to spend more than [-] Wen a day at the inn to sit and wait for the settling fee.

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