Red House Shoufu

Regardless of the reason why the old lady wanted to get closer to the Lin family, this idea coincided with Lin Shu's.

The Lin family and the Jia family are one south, one north, one civil and one military, and to a certain extent, they can just form complementary advantages. The two families support each other and become allies, so that they can go further.

After the matter was discussed, the atmosphere in Rongxi Hall became more harmonious.When Jia Zheng came back from the yamen, Lin Shu had already played leaf cards twice with the old lady.

"Jinyu is free today? I heard that the center has already set the rewards for this time. It is estimated that the rewards will be distributed to each family after the Great Court Meeting tomorrow. I don't know what rewards we will receive this time."

Jia Zheng wasn't the one who was envious of the person who made the meritorious service this time, the main reason was that this time each family had younger generations participating in the suppression of the rebellion, and the achievements of the older generation were clearly visible to the naked eye.

Jia Amnesty was not at home, and Jia Zheng was the head of the Rongguo Mansion.As for Jia Lian, in the eyes of the older generation, he is not qualified to preside over the overall situation of the Rongguo Mansion, at least on the surface the person in charge is Jia Zheng.

Lin Shu hadn't been to the yamen for several days, so he was a bit late on the news.After Jia Zheng finished speaking, Lin Shu responded, "The award from the Ningguo Mansion has been rewarded in advance. Now it depends on how the imperial court rewards Cousin Lian. But the main force in suppressing the rebellion this time is the old man personally led by the British Duke." The officers and soldiers of the guards are the dragon guards, and they are more guarding the palace guards, so the rewards will be less."

"Being kind comes from above. Naturally, you can't be picky as a courtier. Our family is almost the same as the flames and fuel. It's better to keep a low profile for a while."

Jia Zheng had been in Shuntian Mansion Yamen for several months, and he had contact with many low-level officials and people, and he understood the basic views of the people in the capital on the honorable relatives of the clan.

For example, Ningrong and Rongfu have a bad reputation in the past few years, but a lot of jokes have been made every now and then, not to mention that there are some people who deliberately deviate from the rhythm, what kind of extravagance and lust, etc., anyway There are not many problems in the big aspects, but the reputation is really ruined in half.

Fortunately, there is now a concubine in the family, and the eldest brother Jia She, who is in charge, has been re-appointed as a prince. , It can be regarded as reversing the decline and stabilizing the foundation of the family.

As for the second son, Baoyu, as Yuanchun said, it is better to be a rich and idle person!

Lin Shu finally came to be a guest, and Jia Zheng also understood that he should not talk too much about the affairs of the court.After having an exquisite lunch together, the two put aside the government affairs and discussed Jia Lan's career.

For his own grandson, Jia Zheng didn't know as well as Lin Shu did.After Lin Shu talked about Jia Lan's psychological pressure again, Jia Zheng thanked him again and again, and even gave him a famous painting that he had collected for a long time to express his gratitude.

……

According to the rules, the chief and deputy chief examiners who presided over the examination during the rural examination and officials from the various chief ministers (Shuntian Prefecture) formed a temporary organization to preside over the activities.The day before the official examination, when the examiners enter the palace, they first hold a horse-riding banquet under the curtain, and all the officials inside and outside the curtain must attend the banquet.

After the banquet, the inner curtain officials entered the inner curtain of the back hall, and the supervisors closed the door.The exam is divided into three sessions, and each session takes three days. For all three sessions, you need to enter the exam room one day in advance and leave the exam one day after the exam. …

Due to the Mid-Autumn festival and the sudden rebellion, the rural examination in Shuntian Prefecture this autumn was about 20 days later than the rural examination in other places.

From August 25th to the fourth day of September, there were three exams for a total of nine days, and it rained continuously for several days. Many candidates in the Gong Yuan in Shuntian Prefecture got cold.

Within the prescribed range, Lin Shu prepared a lot of medicines for the candidates to avoid the cold, and made the imperial guards who were patrolling the examinations light up the fire and bring hot water, which made the examination go smoothly. .

On the fourth day of September, the last exam ended.When the gate of the Tribute Court opened, many waiting people looked eagerly at the examinees who came out, and some even brought all the doctors from the mansion over.

In the crowd, Jia Zheng, like everyone else, eagerly searched for his grandson Jia Lan among the candidates.Compared with the others, Jia Lan's figure was thinner. Just after leaving the gate of the tribute courtyard, Jia Lan, who was physically and mentally exhausted, almost fainted on the ground.

Fortunately, Jia Huan who came with him squeezed into the crowd, hugged Jia Lan, touched his forehead, and exclaimed, "Father, Brother Lang's forehead is so hot!"

Because of the rules of evasion, Jia Zheng, who is in the Shuntian Prefecture, did not enter the Tribute Court to invigilate the examination together, and these nine days outside the Tribute Court can be regarded as suffering.

Jia Zheng, who was originally worried about his grandson, ran over immediately when he heard this, took Jia Lan and ran to the carriage: "Hurry up and ask the imperial physician..."

……

The content of the rural examination is basically the same type. The first round consists of an essay on "The Analects of Confucius", an essay on "The Doctrine of the Mean" or an essay on "Great Learning", an essay on "Mencius", a five-character eight-rhyme poem, and four classics and meanings. Each of the three questions and four books questions must write more than [-] words, and the four scripture questions need to write more than [-] words.

In the second session, there will be one Five Classics, one test edict, judgment, table, and edict. The argumentative essay requires more than [-] words. Of course, there are changes in each session according to the current situation.

In the third session, five current affairs policies were used, that is, to express comments or opinions on current affairs and government affairs at that time in combination with the theory of Confucian classics.It can be seen from the content of the examination that Confucian classics are the main core content of the imperial examination.

As the chief examiner of the Shuntianfu Township Examination this autumn, Lin Shu basically took care of all the big and small matters of the Township Examination.From proctoring the examination to grading the answer sheets, Lin Shu put his whole body and mind into this special examination.

The first two exams were mainly aimed at the examinee's proficiency in the scriptures, and Lin Shu focused his attention on the third lecture.

The Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, Wei Qinghe, had already drawn up the exam questions for the Shuntianfu Township Examination. Except for the emperor and Wei Qinghe, no one knew what the exam questions were before the exam officially started.

"Han Xuan Zhongxing, Bing and Wei are prime ministers, and later people say that the sages who are prime ministers must be judged, and it is appropriate for them to have a prosperous career to show to the world. And looking at their biography, there is no other merit, and prime ministers are unique. In the chapter of "Mingtang Yueling", the auspicious things are just about. I don't know the reason why C and Wei are virtuous to later generations, can you see it?"

It probably means that during the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Bingji and Wei Xiang were prime ministers. In fact, they didn't do much. Why are they called prime ministers? Let's talk about it.

Mr. Wei knows how to play. If you take such a big question to test these students, are you afraid that these students have mastered the test?Moreover, in the past two days, the old man has written a letter to the palace to invite him to become an official, and the government and the public have discussed it a lot. Does this question have any special meaning? …

The second question is even more unique, "Since the recent years, there have been few big bureaucrats inside and outside the morning stars. All the officials in Taiwan and the province have forced the half-empty department. Either one person takes the number of seal scripts, or one difference covers several years. Everywhere is replaced by Yu, and people People have been struggling to accumulate salaries for a long time. In addition to Jiusai Feishu, various departments have accumulated eucalyptus. The old warehouse will be exhausted, and the Beijing grain will be exhausted. Why? What should I do?"

Lin Shu felt that the old man was a bit too much, asking these students to give advice to the court to rectify the taxation, what is the difference between this and driving ducks to the shelves.Alas, [-] breaths of silence for this group of candidates!
The answer sheets for the first two rounds, Lin Shu, just had a symbolic discussion with the deputy examiner, and he focused on the current affairs policy for the third round.

Although he didn't have much hope for the results of this exam, he still carefully selected candidates who could catch the eye.

Sure enough, most of the people fell directly on the first question, and finally got enough words to finish the first question. Nearly [-]% of the people were stunned by the second question.

There are not many scholars who are interested in financial and tax worries these days. Every summer and autumn, the Ministry of Household Affairs will requisition a large number of private accountants after the grain tax arrives in Beijing to help the Ministry of Household Statistics.Otherwise, relying on the people in the Ministry of Finance who know taxation, the one-year account book can be checked three or four years later.

After staying up all day and all night, Lin Shu and his staff finally finished reviewing all the answer sheets.According to the quota set earlier, Guibang is drafted.

Uncover the seal and transcribe one by one on the yellow list.

In the evening, after the yellow list was affixed with the great seals of the examiners, it was sealed up, and when the sun rose tomorrow, it would be pasted outside the Gongyuan and announced on the list.

When Lin Shu returned to the mansion, it was already nightfall.

I stayed in the Gongyuan for twelve days. Although the Gongyuan provided the examiners with basic living conditions, it was windy and rainy. A place like the Gongyuan must not be as good as home.

"My lord, there is a letter from Dengzhou saying that She Gong's boat has landed. Our people sent news that after She Gong forced Shui Rong to the Wa Kingdom, he sent people to urge the Wa Kingdom to hand over the traitors of Great Chu every now and then. Crazy. They sent envoys, intending to go to Beijing to sue..."

Lin Shu was not at the house these few days, Fuquan summarized all kinds of news received at hand, and reported a few important things.

"There are also places in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, etc. where new crops such as potatoes and corn have been tested. The summer and autumn taxes have been sent to the capital, and the Ministry of Households has completed the statistics. This year, the Northland has a bumper harvest. Wen Tongxuan, Minister of the Ministry of Households, intends to Please invite the imperial court and ask for merit for the uncle. Many elders in the court seconded the proposal and proposed to confer a title on the uncle!"

"A knighthood?"

Lin Shu opened his eyes suddenly, and the sleepiness disappeared.

The Lin family was born as a marquis, and when it was Lin Shu's grandfather's turn, there was only an empty general left.If the title can be awarded, the development momentum of the Lin family will definitely take a big step forward.For at least three generations, the Lin family's family status will not be lowered by accident again.

Fuquan nodded and replied: "It is said that the tax money sent to the household department has filled the treasury, and the tax in kind has even filled the Changping warehouse. Mr. Wen is happy to book several tables for the household department officials. This is the first time since the beginning of the world! The day before yesterday, in the Great Dynasty, Mr. Wen reported to his face, and jointly signed several adults to ask His Majesty for his merits and titles." …

Lin Shu smiled. The role of potatoes and corn is too great, as big as winning a national war.And compared to the military exploits, the people of the country and the court really filled their stomachs. This credit is not an exaggeration for a hereditary and irreplaceable prince.

My Lin family has saved the people of Great Chu from suffering from famine, and laid such a solid foundation for your Gao family's country and society. It is not too much for the royal family to confer a title of rest with the country!

But the emperor should be in a difficult situation. After all, a 20-year-old third-rank civil servant plus a prince is really unbelievable.

It is always necessary to leave some room for rewards for future kings, otherwise, after the crown prince ascends the throne, how should Lin Shu be named?
……

In Xukun Palace, the emperor was very embarrassed when he saw Wen Tongxuan's joint memorial.

He sighed and said to Imperial Concubine Yang: "This old Pixiu has given me a big problem. Originally, I planned to wait for the food in the land to be ripe before doing the reward..."

"Your Majesty is in a dilemma, how to reward Bachelor Lin?"

Yang brought a plate of exquisite snacks and white fungus and lotus seed soup to the emperor, and asked with a smile, "Is your majesty worried that there will be no seal in the future or that the king of future generations will not be able to suppress it?"

"There are concerns about this, but it's more not about this. I'm afraid that Lin Shu will be pushed to the forefront. Mu Xiuyu will be destroyed by Lin Feng, and Lin Shu will be of great use to me. If he is awarded a title, he is considered a honorable man. Noble or civil servants? Since ancient times, literati have looked down on each other, and I don't want Lin Shu to lose his special status among civil servants because of a title."

The emperor is a very confident person, he is confident that Lin Shu will be loyal to him, that there will be no seal in the future, that the crown prince will not be able to hold back, etc. These worries are not enough to make him hesitate.

He was more worried about Lin Shu's position after being knighted. Since the Song Dynasty, except for a few people who were knighted by civil servants when the country was founded, there is no one now.

Wei Qinghe, a veteran of the three dynasties, has made outstanding contributions, but so far he has no title.Zhang Liguo's family lineage is among the prime ministers of the country, and when he becomes an official in the future, at most he will be given an honorary title to support him.

Lin Shu contributed so much to solve the hunger of the people of Chu by cultivating grain seeds, and he had no other choice but to be conferred a title.But for the new coup d'état law, Lin Shu still needs to make great use of it, and Lin Shu must not be removed from the ranks of civil servants.

In the world, there are civil servants and ministers who preside over the government, but there are no nobles who are caught by the military and government. This is the practice of the Great Chu for nearly a hundred years!
After listening to the emperor's complaint, Mrs. Yang smiled and said, "Your Majesty seems to have entered into a misunderstanding. Who said that a man with a noble title is not a civil servant? Aren't Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen of the previous dynasty a civil servant?"

"That's the founding hero..."

Just as the emperor was about to retort, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Hahahahaha... Wonderful, isn't the ancestor of the Lin family the hero of the founding of the country? Isn't that all right?"

Yang picked up a pen and wrote two beautiful characters on the paper: "Your Majesty, it is best to point out that this title is not only a reward for the loyalty of the Lin family for generations, but also a reward for the cultivation of grain by the Lin family. For example, the word Yongfeng It’s very appropriate as a title.”

……

On the seventh day of September, the continuous rain for several days caused the temperature in the capital to drop sharply.

Lin Shutian got up and had dinner before dawn. Today he had to go to the Gongyuan to have a look. After all, it was his first time presiding over an imperial examination, and he was also the chief examiner. The 240 six new imperial examination candidates who passed the Shuntianfu Township examination this autumn were also You have to call yourself a teacher!
It was already dawn, and in less than an hour, the Guiban should be posted outside the Gongyuan. Lin Shu asked Fuquan to prepare the carriage, and when he was about to go out, the housekeeper Lin Lu suddenly ran over beaming.

"Patriarch, great joy, great joy! The Ministry of Rites sent someone over, saying that His Majesty granted the patriarch the honor of Yongfeng Hou, a minister of honesty and integrity for the founding of the country, and asked the mansion to prepare the incense as soon as possible. The imperial decree has already left the palace gate!"