Emperor Kangxi: Yuyu Chengxiang

Chapter 24 The Palace of Zhonghe Monarchs and Ministers Discuss River Affairs, Ren Pavilion, Hongru Examination Article (1)
The world-renowned erudite Confucianism has finally started the exam.This day was March 18th in the [-]th year of Kangxi. At dawn, the Confucian scholars who took the exam gathered at the Taihe Gate, and black crows knelt on the ground.Zhang Wanqiang, the chief eunuch in charge, stood at the entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony with a battle ax in his hand, waiting quietly for Kangxi to arrive.

Suddenly, there was a Jingjing bell, three quiet whips, and the sound of drums and music from Tianjie. After a while, Kangxi was seen coming from the back of the Baohe Hall in a 36-person Luanyu, and it was not until Xiali in front of the Taihe Hall that Zhang Wanqiang shouted. Call: "Long live God is here!" Immediately there was a solemn silence.

Kangxi went down, but he was not in a hurry to enter the hall. He stretched his body in the morning sun, took two deep breaths of the slightly chilly air, walked around, and first looked at the majestic and magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony.After several months of modification, the place has taken on a completely new look. The bellies of the tortoise, the incense tripod, the crane, and the auspicious beast have been ignited with the fragrance of lilies, and the mist is lingering; Shengguang, all this really gives people a feeling of "purple steaming".Kangxi saw the couplet of the new book on the pillar, so he walked over and read it silently, saying:

Rilidan Mountain Clouds Surround Banners Bright Phoenix Feathers

Auspicious opening of the Forbidden People from Changhe to Longguang

Another copy is:

Bluehead (wren) Guanxiangyun Jiuze Tongwen Dynasty Yubi

Fenglou radiant eight directions from the rhythm of Yaochang

Kangxi knew it was Gao Shiqi's handwriting, so he couldn't help nodding and smiling.I feel that both couplets are used: "阊", which is not without suspicion of repetition, but the momentum of the diction is impeccable, and the style of writing is solemn, vigorous and energetic.Seeing Xiong Cilu and others kneeling beside him, Kangxi said with a smile: "Gao Shiqi deserved to eat my Moutai. Within a few days, he actually replaced all the couplets in the three main halls and Qianqing Palace." Seeing Mu Under the guidance of Zixu, the chief of the Ministry of Rites brought nearly two hundred scholars up step by step. With a slight nod of his head, Kangxi strode into the hall and sat upright on the magnificent "No.After a while, Mu Zixu led him to the entrance of the hall, bowed and stepped aside.The three ministers Xiong Cilu, Mingzhu and Suo'etu led the crowd in.Nearly 200 people danced and worshiped in the hall, shouting long live, which made the hall hum.Then Xiong Cilu played: "The cabinet scholar, the minister of the guard, the prince's Taibao minister Xiong Cilu, the minister Hesheli Suo'etu, and the minister Nalan Mingzhu, there are 79 and [-] scholars who should be erudite and Confucian scholars. , Kowtow to see my emperor long live?"

"Gu Yanwu, Fu Shan and the others refused to take the test after all! It seems that conquering people's hearts cannot be achieved overnight!" Kangxi sighed slightly in his heart, silently raised his hand, and Suo'etu hurried out of the class to stand and read the imperial edict:

Fengtian Chengyun Emperor's edict said: Since the ancient times, there must be a generation of erudite Confucianism to revive the literary movement, interpret the classics and history, and polish the poems, so as to prepare for the selection of consultant works.In my spare time, I spend my mind on literature, think about people who are well-rounded, and learn from classics.Since the establishment of my dynasty, I have respected Confucianism and Taoism and cultivated talents.Within the four seas, are there no great talents, profound knowledge, magnificent literature, who can follow the former philosophers?Anyone with excellent academic performance and excellent diction, no matter whether he is an official or not, is a third-rank official in Beijing or an official of science and Taoism.I will personally try to recruit.The rest of the internal and external officials, if they had true knowledge and insights, sent them to the Ministry of Officials internally, and reported to the governor externally to recommend them on their behalf.Make sure that Xu Gong postpones the visit, hoping to get real talents, so as to express my intention of seeking talents and right words.This!
Kangxi remained motionless, scanning the vast hall with his eyes, and the selected Confucians also bowed down to listen to the oracle quietly. They have heard it several times since the day they were recruited, but recently, in front of the 28-year-old young emperor, he solemnly listened to the oracle. Opening the reading, there is a sense of sublime sanctity. After a long time, everyone kowtowed in unison:

"Thanks Long Live Ron!"

"Your Excellencies!" Kangxi's voice was resounding, "The country wiped out the rebellion of the San Francisco, the martial arts gradually disappeared, and the literary movement rose. Wang Er and others advocated the holy way, and everyone showed what they had learned, and lived up to my earnest intentions. "After Kangxi's decree was finished, Folun, the official of Honghe Temple, flashed out of the class, holding a piece of yellow silk spread out on a gold plate, and bowed forward.Kangxi stroked the ink pen on the silk ahead of time.Folun stepped back and handed the silk to Mingzhu again.Mingzhu proclaimed loudly: "The questions of the imperial examination: first, Xuanji Yuheng Fu; Tiren Pavilion presents a banquet, hereby!"

This is a unique experience that neither the palace examination nor the hall examination has ever happened to the imperial scholars.Immediately, people were excited, exchanged warm glances with each other, and retreated politely with indescribable excitement.Kangxi stepped down from the dragon seat, beckoned Mu Zixu and asked, "Yesterday, the decree was sent to Jin Fu to hand over the signboard. I wonder if he has come?" Hall of Harmony, I saw Jin Fu kneeling outside the gate of the Qianqing Palace and waiting for the decree!" Kangxi walked around in a circle, as if he was a bit reluctant to part with the atmosphere just now, unwilling to leave this supreme palace.After thinking about it, this is not a place to discuss politics, so he said with a smile, "Call him up, I will see him in the Hall of Zhonghe!" As soon as he saw the couplets, he saw Jin Fu coming hurriedly from a distance, because he nodded and smiled and said, "Excuse me, come in and talk—the Tiren Pavilion over there is taking a test for more famous Confucianism, and our monarchs and ministers will talk about river governance."

"Yes!" Jin Fu almost trotted up all the way, still panting a little while speaking, "It's just that the Lord takes care of everything every day, and all the affairs are busy, so it's time to work..." Then he followed into the hall and stood by Kangxi's side.Kangxi opened his mouth and asked: "When are you going to leave for the post?" "Return to the emperor," Jin Fu said with a bow, "The slave's paperwork has been handed in, I don't know if it can be read by the imperial court? After listening to the admonishment, the slave immediately went south to take up the post." .”

Kangxi nodded, took the glass of honey water from the servant, and handed it to Jin Fu who was a little flustered: "I'll give you a drink—I've been in Beijing these days, have you heard anything from outside?"

Jin Fu was a little confused, holding the cup and asked cautiously: "I don't know what the Holy Spirit means..."

"The matter between Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei." Kangxi said lightly, "What are you talking about next?" Jin Fu didn't expect Kangxi to ask this, and felt a little weird, and replied thoughtfully: "My ministers originally expected that the emperor would create a big prison. Some of them were uneasy about being filial and incorruptible. Chen Menglei was a scholar in Fujian and was looked up to by scholars in the south. Although he was guilty, the evidence seemed insufficient. After the master dealt with it, everyone admired him, saying that the emperor has a high benevolence and is a blessing for scholars all over the world. !" Kangxi stared at Jin Fu for a long time, and said with a smile: "You don't have to flatter me, I'm afraid there will be some sarcastic remarks! I know this matter well, there are no fish in clear water ponds, and some things can only be handled in a muddle. This remark—don’t think it’s irrelevant to you, I’m speaking to you, and the booklet to tell you has already been handed over, do you know? You, how dare you take money from the national currency to Beijing Come to get some dignitaries?" Seeing beads of sweat dripping from Jin Fu's nose, and eager to plead, Kangxi smiled and waved his hands, "I have already kept their paperwork, so you don't have to take it to heart, it's better to borrow treasury money than to add more Huo consumes money and strips the people's integrity. You will be in charge of the river engineering in the future, and the money will flow like sea water. I have to remind you and tell you to be careful. If you don't believe me, I won't talk about it. Let's get to the point , there are some water conservancy regulations in your booklet, which I can't understand, let me tell you about your plan, and I will plan it for you."

Hearing Kangxi's words, Jin Fu's nose was sore and he almost burst into tears, and hurriedly wiped it away.Thinking that at this time, he could only give a brief introduction to Chen, so he took out a picture from his sleeve, which was drawn by Lian Ming all night after Chen Huang entered Beijing.When Kangxi saw it, he stretched out his hand to pass it, so he spread it on the case, and asked Jin Fu to show him one by one.

"My lord," Jin Fu was a little nervous because he was too close to Kangxi, and said with a sigh of relief, "The minister's rule of the river is roughly divided into two steps. In general, the rule of the river is the root, and the standard of the water... ..." He drew his finger on the map, "...The first step is to block all the existing breaches of the Yellow River, gradually progressing from east to west, so as to restore the course of the Yellow River. There are five major repair projects: dredging from Qinghepu to Yunti Close to the river channel of Haikou; dredge the west of Gaojiayan to clear the silt, and then build a strong embankment at Gaojiayan to ensure that the flood will not block the north of Qingkou at this breach... After these projects are completed, the Yellow River enters the sea. The road will be unimpeded, and then efforts will be made to fill up the old breaches one by one, so as not to flood again. Finally, the canal will be deepened and the stagnant pool will be cleared, and the canal will be safe..."

At this point, Jin Fu raised his head and glanced at Kangxi, seeing that Kangxi was not bored, staring at the river map with piercing eyes, and hurriedly continued: "The second step is to excavate a middle river along the Yellow River in the area of ​​Yifeng, Kaocheng, Henan. , from Luoma Lake via Suqian, Taoyuan to Qinghe Zhongjiazhuang, avoiding the risk of turbulent winds in the middle of the Yellow River for 180 miles, and water transport ships can only sail in the Yellow River for [-] miles, and there is no major worry.” Then, Jin Fu dictated Draw by hand, and point out the detailed projects of the canal estuary, the Tiaozao River, and the Quiren embankment one by one.This is all discussed with Chen Huang repeatedly, and he has already learned it by heart, and he said it very freely.

Kangxi nodded while listening, and kept saying "um", without interrupting.It wasn't until Jin Fu finished speaking that he stroked his forehead and leaned back, closed his eyes and pondered for a long time, and said, "It sounds like it's feasible. But I'm not good at water conservancy, and I haven't personally surveyed it, so it's hard to say whether it's true or not. The first step of the project When it is completed, the water transportation will not be harmed by yellowing, which is very comforting and joyful. I wonder how long it will take?"

"Long live back, ten years!"

"Ten years won't work, how about seven years?"

"I will do my best."

(End of this chapter)