late Qing Dynasty arrest

Li Guolou's family is in the capital, and because he has an official position, he did not live in the tribute courtyard like other Jinshi, but rushed to Xihua Gate alone, waiting to enter the Forbidden City with 270 nine Jinshi, to be the most important person in his life. An important exam paper.

The sky was not clear yet, Li Guolou took out his pocket watch to check the time, it was not yet five o'clock.Standing here on an open terrain, the morning breeze from Haizi in the north is cool and damp, and it makes you shiver.A person stands alone in front of the wall photo and looks at the gate of the palace. The light corridors inside are criss-crossed. The palace buildings are pasted on the white sky like a piece of paper-cut. Below the palace lantern stands the military academy of Shanpuying, none of them moving, just like Weng Zhong standing on both sides of the mausoleum.To the west is an open square, and the open space is hazy.Residential houses in the distance are too far away to see clearly, but the water color in the northwest is connected into a line. The water color is rippling and fluctuating.

Further north is a peach orchard, which cannot be seen, but when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, the strong fragrance of flowers blows over with the wind, and the cool and sweet fragrance is very pleasant.Li Guolou took a deep breath, and the refreshing fragrance made people feel refreshed and refreshed. His originally drowsy mind suddenly became sober with bright eyes and a calm heart.He couldn't help narrowing his eyes slightly, trying to see through the haze in the morning light.

The eight soldiers from the Shanpu camp unlocked the huge lock of the palace gate, and slowly opened the palace gate. The pleasing movements made Li Guolou not notice that the Jinshi in the brigade was lined up neatly from far to near.The red light of the morning sun imprinted Li Guolou's tall and straight figure, his pink and shiny rectangular face, his brows looked like a brocade, and his smiling expression reminded him of the fancy and beautiful movements of the military academy, but the army was vulnerable , It is embarrassing.

"Li Guolou, go to the back of the line." The teacher Mao Changxi called out loudly. He had never seen such a determined person, who was fascinated by watching the military academy exercises at the palace gate.

"It's the teacher!" Li Guolou's heart trembled, how could he be distracted at this moment, and hurried to the back of the two columns.

Li Hongzao, the chief examiner who stood at the front of the line, stroked his beard, with a smile on his face. Li Guolou was a different person, and he came to Xihua Gate by himself. I also believe that Emperor Tongzhi could notice Li Guolou.

To study knowledge, give lectures, and teach apprentices, one must endure loneliness and poverty. As the emperor's teacher, Li Hongzao taught in the Imperial Academy besides teaching Tongzhi Emperor and other imperial children in Yuqing Palace.Being the chief examiner of a scientific examination is a favor and a fat job.

As 280 Jinshi disciples, they all have to visit their masters to thank their mentor Li Hongzao for taking them.There is also a teacher apprentice ceremony, the so-called overnight riches, Jinshi is like this, and the chief examiner Li Hongzao is also like this.The 280 Jinshi in this subject are the capital of Li Hongzao's life. These students will visit their teachers and teachers' wives when they are promoted, celebrate the New Year, or even pass by Li Hongzao's hometown.Therefore, the lifelong dream of those students in the Hanlin Academy is to be the chief examiner of a scientific examination or the next best thing, and the room teacher is enough.

Li Hongzao was the chief examiner of the scientific examination, and the Emperor Tongzhi wanted to use him to make enough political capital, and he had a group of disciples who obeyed.It is a symbol of Li Hongzao's entry into the court, and it is also the beginning of Emperor Tongzhi's sole control of power.

There is a great advantage in walking at the end of the line, no one will pay attention, Li Guolou is not like the people in front, one by one lowers their heads, looks at the floor tiles and walks, not even daring to breathe.Instead, he looked left and right, raising his eyes to see the scenery in the palace.Li Guolou didn't care about the eunuchs and maids standing on the side of the road staring at him angrily, and nodded slightly in greeting with the attitude of an official treating his subordinates.Let those eunuchs and maids see that he is a man of official status.

The etiquette of meeting the emperor, more than 200 Jinshi have already studied in the Gongyuan, came to the Qianqing Palace, and arranged in order.Li Guolou was still at the bottom of the row, with dark heads all in front of him.The table for writing articles has not yet been set up, and there is only a dragon chair placed high in the empty hall.

There is a curtain hanging on the right side of the dragon chair, and the curtains of the empress dowagers of the two palaces have not been removed, which symbolizes that the empress dowager Ci'an of the east palace and the empress dowager Cixi of the west palace are not at ease with the Tongzhi emperor Zaichun who had performed the coronation ceremony, and have secured the final barrier for the emperor.A group of high-ranking officials in court uniforms lined up one by one, standing on both sides of the hall, solemn and silent.

The chime bells sounded pleasantly, and the third time, the male duck said: "The Empress of the East Palace is here! The Empress of the West Palace is here! The Emperor is here! All the gentlemen kneel down to welcome you!"

His childish face was still intact, wearing a dragon robe embroidered with nine golden dragons, twelve oriental pearls hanging from his neck, and a satin platform crown on his head, Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun first performed the ceremony and invited the queen mothers of the two palaces to sit, and then sat on the dragon chair .

After three prostrations and nine prostrations, Zaichun said to the more than 200 Jinshi who were still kneeling on the ground: "All the loves are the pillars of the country. The country's opening of the examination is to select you. Today you come to the Qianqing Palace. Don't get flustered, just like when you were studying in the Gongyuan, write the article calmly and show your true level. I send ardent hopes to you 280 Jinshi. The future of the Qing Dynasty depends on you. I have been thinking about you for more than ten years The cold window is quite hard, and I am a little nervous when I come to the Forbidden City for the first time, don’t be afraid! Test your true level;;;;;;”

From the beginning to the end, Li Guolou didn't have the opportunity to look up to see what the Emperor Tongzhi looked like?After thanking you, Li Hongzao said another word of encouragement, and then a group of eunuchs placed 280 desks. Li Guolou was ushered from the last row to the left seat in the front row by a eunuch, and the others were also disturbed. The order is no longer arranged according to height.On the high steps in front is a bamboo curtain, and the queen mothers of the two palaces are sitting behind the curtain.

Behind the curtain, the Empress Dowager Cixi stared at Li Guolou, who was watching his eyes, nose, nose and heart, and couldn't help smiling. She really looked like her little eunuch, Xiao Dezhang.Thinking of what Li Lianying told her about the first encounter between Li Guolou and Xiao De Zhang, Cixi immediately raised her hand and said in a low voice: "Sister, look at that person, does he look like Xiao De Zhang? He is the grandson of Li Zhongtang. , came from the line of Li Zhongtang’s grandparents. It’s called Li Guolou.”

The Empress Dowager Ci'an followed to look at Li Guolou, then glanced at Xiao Dezhang standing next to the Empress Dowager Cixi, couldn't help laughing, nodded and said: "It really looks alike, except that the skeleton is a little bigger. Where is Li Guolou ranked? "

Standing behind the Empress Dowager Cixi, Xiao Dezhang's expression did not change, and he had already overturned the five-flavored bottle in his heart, knowing that their hands and feet were not in vain.Li Guolou was commented by the two empress dowagers, and his value rose immediately. The 8000 taels of silver that he spent was about to be obtained.Xiao Dezhang winked at the little eunuch standing next to the Empress Dowager Ci'an, the white money is worth seeing.

Before this palace examination, more than 200 Jinshi had already had a top-three ranking, which was almost settled. It depends on whether the Emperor Tongzhi has any objections?Generally, the emperor has to change a few rankings slightly, and some people change their fate because of their name or appearance.First-class, second-class and third-class are all Jinshi, but the arrangement of official positions is different, and the speed of promotion is also different.

The three Jinshi who entered Yijia will be called in the Forbidden City after a while, hairpin flowers will be placed on the official hats in the imperial garden, drinking at the Qionglin Banquet, and all the officials will celebrate.Dozens of guards and eunuchs shouted Yijia's name together from outside the gate of Qianqing Palace, and the shouting went on from guard post to Chang'an Avenue.The most glorious thing in the past and present is that at this moment, the place where civil servants are more glorious than military officials is to pass the "first class" exam.

Cixi said: "Little Lizi! Show us Li Guolou's examination paper."

Cixi has a strong foundation in stereotyped essays and can write Chinese. In the past, many imperial edicts promulgated in the name of Emperor Tongzhi were written by the Empress Dowager Cixi.Now that her son Zaichun has grown up, Cixi no longer writes the national language, but she is habitually in power, and she is very concerned about the country's selection of scholars.Judging a person by their appearance, one needs to be praised as a high-ranking person. Cixi first has to read Li Guolou's article, and where does Li Hongzao arrange Li Guolou?

"Zha!" Li Lianying bowed back and took Li Guolou's examination papers and other top-ranked candidates' examination papers from Li Hongzao. The two empress dowagers had to read the examination papers of these 33 candidates.As for the examination papers of the top three candidates, the two empress dowagers only read the papers.

Similarly, Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun also sat on the dragon chair and read the candidates' examination papers. The Jinshi in the hall could only write three or four hundred characters for a stereotyped essay. No matter how slow the candidates wrote, they would always finish it in one morning.

The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the roster first, Li Hongzao took Li Guolou's ranking as the 29th in the second class, and then looked at the articles written by Li Guolou.She was not interested in reading the previous fill-in-the-blank questions, and stereotyped essays were the only criterion for her reading.Li Guolou's eight-legged essay was the proud work of Li Hongzao, the chief examiner. It immediately caught the attention of Empress Dowager Cixi, and he nodded slightly in approval.

"Sister, take a look." The Empress Dowager Cixi handed the Li Guolou examination paper to the Empress Dowager Ci'an.

At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi was by no means arbitrary as the later generations said. She had a very good relationship with the Empress Dowager Ci'an, and the two palaces coexisted peacefully.Another point is that Empress Dowager Ci'an doesn't like political power in the court, and she has no political ambitions. She always obeys the advice of Empress Dowager Cixi in making decisions in the court.The Empress Dowager Cixi did not establish absolute authority either. For the ministers in the court, the Empress Dowager Ci'an had a higher status than the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the important affairs of the country were reported to the empress dowagers of the two palaces together.

Cixi hoped that her son Zaichun would be able to act arbitrarily and handle the affairs of state by herself as soon as possible. She did not have the ambitions of Wu Zetian, nor did she have vicious methods. She used her beauty to seduce Prince Gong Yixin and seize power from the hands of the eight princes, and she did not commit mass murder .She only wants the Qing Dynasty to last forever, and she can help her son Zaichun complete the restoration of the Qing Dynasty, so she has a high interest in the country's selection of scholars.The importance of discovering and promoting talents to the country is self-evident. When the Empress Dowager Cixi saw Li Guolou's article, she couldn't help but be filled with joy.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an did not have the literary talents of the Empress Dowager Cixi, but she could tell whether the stereotyped essays were good or bad. After reading it, she said, "Well, my sister, that Li Guolou is good at writing. He has such a level at a young age. I heard that He also stayed abroad, which is rare."

The Empress Dowager Cixi frowned slightly, and said: "Oh! Why don't I know, little Li, bring me the files of Li Guolou and let me have a look."

The Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't care, and continued to read the articles of other scholars. The most important thing was the examination papers of the first and third candidates recommended by Li Hongzao, among which was Lu Runxiang's examination paper.

Li Lianying is a smart person, he just told the Empress Dowager Cixi about the matter of Li Guolou and Xiao Dezhang as a joke, how could he dare to tell Li Guolou's resume, just tap a stroke.As for the Empress Dowager Ci'an knowing about Li Guolou, it was the work of Zhang Yiyi, the eunuch of the Eastern Palace.In this way, it will not show the dew, and prevent the two empress dowagers from realizing how stupid they are, and they have become the tools of the eunuchs around them.

Other Jinshi only thought of buying off the chief examiner to be admitted as a Jinshi.There is only one Li Guolou for those who use their brains to go to Qianqing Palace, want to squeeze into the top three, and plot against the emperor and the empress dowagers of the two palaces.

After reading Li Guolou's biography, the Empress Dowager Cixi had some ideas in her heart, but she kept her face calm and put Li Guolou's examination paper aside instead of returning to the original 29th place in the second class.

A group of eunuchs with unmoved faces had already cultivated the ability to express joy, anger, sorrow, and joy like actors, and they were secretly excited. What kind of person is the master?Would the people who were their slaves still not know?Huachai Huachai's snow-white money is waiting for them to share.