I studied in modern times

Chapter 669 Zong Ze’s Dream Day (2)

Zhao Xu sat upright in the Imperial College, looking at two people who were brought outside the palace and were bowing their heads in front of the door.

"Chengwu Langchen Shang..."

"The inner room of the Imperial College gave birth to Chen Ze..."

"May Your Majesty be blessed!"

Then comes the standard etiquette of four bows to the emperor.

Zhao Xu sat in the imperial palace, facing them across the threshold, and simply said, "Stand up and talk!"

As a low-ranking official in the capital, a student of the Imperial College, it was impossible for him to enter the imperial palace and sit opposite Zhao Xu in the feudal Song Dynasty with its strict hierarchical order.

Because they are not worthy yet.

When a minister and the king interact with each other, it is called "sitting and discussing the Tao".

At the very least, one has to be a court official or above to have this qualification.

Huang Shang and Zong Ze stood up carefully, then bent over, lowered their heads, and stood at the door, not daring to look at the emperor on the throne.

However, Zhao Xu looked at the two people at the door with great interest.

Huang Shang was probably in his forties, with a well-groomed beard. He looked very dignified, and indeed had a bit of an immortal look.

It is no wonder that in the palace examination in the fifth year of Yuanfeng, Zhao Xu's father liked him at first sight and directly promoted him from fifth place to the top scorer of the subject.

However, compared to Huang Shang, the top scholar who is like a sweeping monk in the novel.

What Zhao Xu really cared about was the young man behind Huang Shang.

Zongze!

Modern textbooks, when describing the intersection of the two Song dynasties, devote the most attention to a figure second only to Yue Fei.

He was regarded as a national hero and anti-Jin general in modern times.

In the history textbook, there is a picture of Zong Ze lying on the sickbed and shouting.

Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!

How do others feel when seeing this picture? Zhao Xu is not sure.

But when he saw the pictures in the textbook, he burst into tears.

Today, Zong Ze is still just a young scholar.

But he is tall and strong, and his skin looks a little dark, which may be the result of him once following his father and brothers to farm.

Zhao Xu let out a sigh of relief and calmed his mind.

"Mr. Huang, I have heard my father speak of you." Zhao Xu said slowly, "My father said that your writing is full of moral integrity and beautiful writing style, and you are worthy of being selected by the world."

"The Emperor also showed me some of your poems!"

Zhao Xu said, and then recited: "I am ashamed that I have not yet accomplished my great plan. When will I drink with you and discuss it?"

"Now that you have won the first place in the imperial examination and are serving as an official, do you still have any ambitions in your heart?"

For Zhao Xu, all the civil and military officials who entered the government and rose to power during the Xining and Yuanfeng periods could play the imperial examination card.

There is no way. Who told him to be young, to ascend the throne in a hurry, and to have no team of his own?

It can only be a fox taking advantage of the power of a tiger, and it can only be a loan that expands the favor.

As it happened, Huang Shang really owed Zhao Xu's father a debt of gratitude that he would probably never be able to repay in this lifetime.

Because Huang Shang ranked fifth in the palace examination that year - the examiner originally ranked Huang Shang fifth.

How did Huang Shang become the top scholar?

Because Zhao Xu's father had read his articles and poems and liked them very much - Emperor Shenzong once saw his articles and wrote down a few of their sentences.

So when the names were called out, seeing that he was ranked fifth, he directly asked for his paper, praised him in person, and immediately named him the top scorer.

This is what happened publicly during the palace examination in the fifth year of Yuanfeng.

Everyone who participated back then knows it.

As expected, Huang Shang burst into tears on the spot, kowtowed and said: "The late emperor's grace is so great that I cannot repay it even if I die!"

To Huang Shang, the late Emperor Yingwen Liewu Shengxiao of the Song Dynasty was definitely the wisest ruler in the world and the greatest saintly ruler throughout history!

why?
Because he had been wasting his time on imperial examinations before he was forty.

It can be said that I have failed every time I tried!
From the time he first obtained the qualification of a tribute scholar at the age of twenty-six, he went to Beijing to take the examination again at the age of forty.

He failed in the imperial examinations again and again.

It was not until the fifth year of Yuanfeng that he finally passed the Ministry of Rites examination and successfully entered the Palace Examination. Then, in the Palace Examination, he was selected by the previous emperor and promoted as the top scorer.

He was also the last top scholar personally selected by the late emperor.

For the scholar-officials, this is the combination of the grace of recognition and the grace of promotion.

If you don’t try your best to repay, then you are not worthy of being a human being!

Now, the newly appointed king mentioned this matter when he summoned him for the first time.

what is this?
The high hopes of two generations of emperors!

This made Huang Shang feel like "You treat me as a national hero".

Suddenly, an inexplicable force was injected into his body.

Huang Shang shed tears and bowed again: "I am willing to die for your majesty!"

"Even if I am driven like an ox or a horse, I will never complain!"

Zhao Xu listened, nodded slightly, and said, "Good!"

"I hope you will not let down the Emperor, nor me!" Huang Shang bowed again: "I will die a hundred times to repay the kindness of the late Emperor and Your Majesty!"

very good!

Zhao Xu nodded.

This is what you said yourself, my dear minister. I didn't force you to do it.

So my dear, just work hard for me in the Imperial College 996!
Become my tool!

It was not until this time that Zhao Xu finally shifted his attention away from Huang Shang.

Then, his eyes were fixed on the young scholar who had his head lowered and looked trembling with fear.

Zongze!

He was the last prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture in the Song Dynasty and also the last governor of Tokyo.

After the Jingkang Incident, in the chaos when all the horses were silent, he retained a glimmer of hope for the Song Dynasty.

It's a pity that the entrustment is not human!
Wanyan Gou's cowardice and incompetence completely ruined all his and Yue Fei's efforts and sacrifices.

Only in the history books remains the deafening cry: "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!"

Wanyan Gou let down Zong Ze and also let down the sacrifices and efforts of countless soldiers and civilians in Bianliang and Hebei.

The Han army had to wait another 239 years before crossing the Yellow River again and launching a northern expedition to the Central Plains!

It had to wait until the 13th year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty.

The separatist regime established by Wanyan Gou was 88 years after its demise.

Zhu Yuanzhang offered sacrifices to heaven in Nanjing and began the Northern Expedition under the banner of "expelling the barbarians, restoring China, establishing laws and regulations, and saving the people." He was unstoppable all the way, sweeping across the country, and finally reuniting the chaotic China, with the Han emperor ruling the world again.

"Zong Qing..."

"I will never let you experience the sorrow of crossing a river again!" Zhao Xu said in his heart.

So he asked softly, "Where is Zong Ze, the student from the Imperial College?"

Zong Ze was immediately shocked and bowed his head: "I am Ze, a student of the Imperial College, and I bow my head again to Your Majesty, the Emperor. I wish Your Majesty the best of luck and good health."

Imperial College was the highest institution of learning in the Song Dynasty.

It is also the place that carries the political ambitions of the New Party.

If Wang Anshi's idea at that time was followed, when everything was ready, the Imperial College would be able to shoulder its due mission.

Then, the New Party has to do one thing – abolish the imperial examination system!

From then on, all candidates were selected from the Imperial College and followed the three-house system.

According to Wang Anshi's idea, in this way, a talent selection system at different levels could be established from the central government to local prefectures and counties.

All officials in the world will come from schools.

In this way, we can achieve the perfect society envisioned by Wang Anshi - one morality, one custom.

Because the schools in the prefectures and counties and the central Imperial College all use the same textbooks.

The talents cultivated in this way will surely be those who grow up by reading the new meanings of the Three Classics and looking up the interpretations of words.

Isn't it possible to achieve 'same morality, same customs'?
Wang Anshi and the New Party never hid this matter.

They made their case public early on.

All scholars in the world know it!

Even today, the imperial examination system is still being implemented, but the three-house system is only implemented in the Imperial College and has not been extended to prefectures and counties.

However, the selection of officials and employing people had already begun from the Imperial Academy.

Therefore, the students of the Imperial College today are all candidates for preparing to become officials and are scholar-officials recognized by the world.

In the Song Dynasty, whose national policy was to "govern the world together with the literati and officials", Taixue students like Zong Ze could naturally regard themselves as "ministers" in front of the emperor.

Zhao Xu nodded, steadied his breath, and asked, "I have heard of your name for a long time, and now I have specially summoned you."

"Please introduce yourself!"

This requires a small loan of favor.

But when Zong Ze heard this, he became excited and even his voice began to tremble!
no way!
In the Song Dynasty, one of the highest honors for scholars and officials was to present the names of their ancestors before the emperor so that their ancestors' names could be heard by the emperor.

This is called bringing honor to the family!
And there are very few who can do this.

How many Jinshi (Jinshi) and civil officials were unable to have their father’s and grandfather’s names mentioned before the emperor until their death!

This is because one can report the names of one's ancestors to the king.

Apart from important officials above the rank of Taizhi, there was only a ceremony to announce the names of the top three candidates in each imperial examination.

The emperor will ask the top three Jinshi candidates about their place of origin, age, and the names of their fathers and grandfathers.

This is an honor exclusive to the top three Jinshi.

How could Zong Ze not be excited and trembling?

He bowed his head and trembled as he played: "Your servant... Your servant... Ze... was born in the fourth year of Jiayou at Ershisanlipu, Wushang County, Wuzhou, Liangzhe Road..."

"My father's name is Shunqing...my mother's surname is Liu...both of them are from Wuzhou, and the family tradition is farming and studying..."

After saying this, Zong Ze's face turned red.

Present your parents’ names to the Emperor!

This was his dream!

But he did it now!
Bring honor to our family! Bring honor to our family!
At this moment, only these four words were jumping in Zong Ze's mind!
(End of this chapter)