I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 230 Enke’s examination (please subscribe)

February 25, Gongyuan.

Outside the gate of Gongyuan, a dense crowd of candidates have been waiting for a long time. For the first grand ceremony in many years, more than [-] candidates gathered in the capital. They were either alone or with servants, and their faces could not help but show nervousness and contemplation. color.

With a "squeak" sound, the gate of the Gongyuan slowly opened, and a doctor from the Ministry of Etiquette slowly walked out. .

"Students come in!"

After hearing the order, Juzi, who had been preparing for a long time, began to file in through the small door on the right side of the Gongyuan gate. This small door was called the Dragon Gate, taking the allusion of "carp leaping over the Dragon Gate".

"Brother Lu, I will send you here today. I wish you are full of ideas and write like a god. I will pick you up in person the day after tomorrow."

While having someone pass the lunch box and baggage to Lu Xiangsheng, he quickly said some auspicious words before Lu Xiangsheng went in.

"Jiandou (Lu Xiangsheng's name), Brother Huang has so many things to do every day, and yet he came to see you off so early today. It's really a deep kindness and a great kindness."

Behind Lu Xiangsheng was a man in a gray robe. He couldn't help but sigh when he saw that Huang Dong paid so much attention to Lu Xiangsheng, asking for them all the way and bringing them a lot of food.

"Brother Zhang was joking. If it weren't for Brother Lu's support, how could I be where I am today? This is what I should do. This time I will pray outside for Brother Lu's high school."

"Haha, Yu Shen (Zhang Guowei's nickname) is right. I still have to thank Brother Huang Dong. Okay, if I don't say anything else, go in quickly. Go in early and prepare early."

Lu Xiangsheng watched Huang Dong's rise step by step. In just half a year, he had already become a big businessman in the capital's newspaper industry. Now I still hear him say that he wants to do sea trade business with that prince. The industry is really getting bigger and bigger. , it can be seen that he is a person with unlimited money prospects.

Zhang Guowei nodded when he heard this. It was already getting late, so he packed his luggage, took the burden on his back, said goodbye to Huang Dong, and queued up to enter the Gongyuan.

"Sir, you are the one who is on the line with the palace now. You have to deal with many things every day. Today, just ask the young one to come and see Lu Juren off. I have to trouble you to come in person."

Seeing Lu Xiangsheng and Zhang Guowei queuing up and walking into the Gongyuan, a waiter next to Huang Dong couldn't help but ask.

Huang Dong, who was wearing a fine satin robe, shook his head when he heard this and was noncommittal.

He himself was grateful to Lu Xiangsheng. In the first and most difficult time, if it weren't for Lu Xiangsheng's funding and help, his business would not be able to operate at all.

Besides, he also found that the emperor was quite interested in Lu Xiangsheng. After the last meeting, he also asked about Lu Xiangsheng.

With the emperor's hint and helping him, it is natural for him to be nice to Lu Xiangsheng.

"Has Zheng Zhilong arrived?"

Huang Dong did not respond to the boy's doubts, but asked about other things.

"The person who came just now said that he arrived half an hour ago. It seems that he just came back from watching the ship in Tianjin and wanted to discuss the ship and sea trade with you."

"Well, he is indeed the emperor's favorite. He is vigorous and resolute. Prepare the carriage. Let's go see him now."

Huang Dong nodded happily when he heard this. Since the last time the emperor handed over this business to Zheng Zhilong and him, Zheng Zhilong has been fine, but his inner pressure is very great. He has never been exposed to the sea trade business before and is completely ignorant. Now he is The joint merchants collected a lot of money and also took money from the emperor and nobles. If it failed, there would be trouble.

On the other hand, although this Zheng Zhilong looks young, he is full of confidence. Now he has bought a ship through Tianjin government and recruited people. At the same time, he has also written to his uncle, asking him to send more sailing talents to Beijing. He must first open up business with Liaodong and North Korea. .

Although Huang Dong didn't understand sea trade, he still knew that specialization was necessary in the art industry. He strongly supported Zheng Zhilong's wishes and never stopped him.

When I saw Zheng Zhilong coming back from Tianjin this time, I thought that the matter between the ship and the people must have been settled, so I hurried home.

Lu Xiangsheng and others entered the dragon gate and looked up to see the Mingyuan Tower at the end of the corridor.

This building is not only a resting place for examiners, but also used for invigilation, so it is built very high.

"I heard from my father before that Mingyuan Tower is five stories high. Standing on the top floor, you can have a panoramic view of the West Mountain Range and the Beique Palace. Therefore, there is a couplet on the pillars of the building that says: "The quiet night is full of light rushing to the Beidou, and the refreshing air of autumn is blowing against the West Mountain. ", it should look like this now."

Zhang Guowei sighed with emotion while looking at the Mingyuan Building in the Gongyuan. Then the two of them continued to walk forward and looked at the dormitories in the two rows on the left and right.

This is not only a place where candidates take exams, but also a place where candidates eat and live during the exam.Each numbered room is numbered with a "thousand-character script", and candidates only need to take a seat according to the number.

But they were not in a hurry to rush to the dormitory, but followed the large army to Mingyuan Building.

There is an ancient Sophora japonica tree from the Yuan Dynasty next to Mingyuan Tower. It is said that this is where Wen Guang shot bullfights, so it is called "Wenchang Sophora japonica".Its roots grow on the east side of the road, and its main trunk bends to the west, so the crown is on the west side of the road.This locust tree grows like a crouching dragon. It is said that this locust tree is related to the candidates' literary fortune.Therefore, candidates must worship in order to climb the dragon gate.

There is an endless stream of people bowing to the side of "Wenchang Huai", and there are even some old acquaintances meeting here. Although noisy is strictly prohibited, those who say hello in secret still put their heads out to wave and then bow.

"Aren't these two brothers from Fengxin and Song Dynasty? They were second and No. 43 in Jiangxi Yimao Ke Township Examination in the 6rd year of Wanli. I heard that my younger brother Song Yingxing was smart and memorized since he was a child. He was able to rhyme at a few years old and had a photographic memory."

There were many people inside who Zhang Guowei knew. When he saw two people over 30 years old, wearing scarves and green robes, he was secretly surprised and introduced them to Lu Xiangsheng in a soft voice.

When Lu Xiangsheng heard the words and looked around, he saw that the two brothers were thinking deeply and closed their eyes in silence. They thought that in Wanli 43, this should be the third time they took the examination, but he didn't know if he could win this time.

"Brother Lu, look at that young man from the year after the Song brothers. His name is Shen Tingyang. He is from Chongming in Suzhou Prefecture. He is from the same hometown as Xu Guangqi, the minister of the Red Ministry of Labor in front of the emperor. I heard that he went to the Xu Mansion to pay homage to him as soon as he arrived in the capital. With Xu Guangqi’s care, there will definitely be no problem this time.”

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head when he heard this. This friend of his was extremely intelligent but had a wild temper. Now everyone in Gongyuan was very nervous and anxious, but he was not nervous at all and even commented on him in a serious manner.

"Okay, okay, hurry up and get into the dormitory. Be ready when you get there."

Zhang Guowei was about to move forward when he saw Lu Xiangsheng, so he quickly stopped him and asked him to slow down.

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious. We still have plenty of time. I heard that the dormitory in Gongyuan is so small, much smaller than the one in Nanzhili. It's like a prison when you go in. Take a walk while you're still outside to feel comfortable. Preparing for the exam."

As Zhang Guowei spoke, he found someone else, and he introduced Lu Xiangsheng regardless of whether he wanted to listen or not.

"Brother Lu, look, the person in front of you who is talking to others is the famous Mao Yuanyi."

Upon hearing this name, Lu Xiangsheng was instantly interested and immediately responded.

I saw a tall and tall man in front of him talking softly to the three people around him. He must be Mao Yuanyi, the grandson of the famous Mao Kun, who has become famous at a young age.

"I didn't expect him to be so young. He seems to have just turned [-] years old. He compiled the "Military Bei Zhi" at such a young age. It really puts me to shame."

"Yes, the book "Military Preparations" is a collection of the military art, combat equipment, and equipment of the past dynasties. The content is not incomplete. I didn't expect that this person is so young. He followed the former governor of Liaodong, Yang Hao, in his early years. Now I heard someone say that Mr. Sun, the deputy censor of Youdu, appreciates him very much and wants to recruit him as his staff. We are really ashamed of ourselves."

"Since we are ashamed of ourselves, we must not slack off and only strive for progress! It's getting late, let's hurry up and enter the dormitory."

As soon as they came in, they saw so many famous and outstanding candidates from all over the country, which made Lu Xiangsheng and Zhang Guowei feel even more stressed. They didn't even think about chatting, and they started looking for dormitories to prepare for the exam.

The time for a stick of incense passed quickly. After paying homage to "Wenchanghuai" in the tribute courtyard, the disciples from all over the country entered the dormitory one after another, took out the pen and ink dry food, and prepared for the exam.

"Seal the courtyard!"

Accompanied by the shouts of the government officials, the gate of Gongyuan was slowly pushed forward, and only a dull sound was heard as it was closed and locked.The patrolling officers and soldiers arranged their hands in front and behind the dormitories, and the inspector reiterated the rules of the examination room while patrolling.

In Mingyuan Building, the chief examiner Yuan Keli and many examiners were standing solemnly on the top floor, looking at the rows of dormitories.

"From today on, we will live in this Gongyuan for a month. We also need the efforts of the princes to review papers and select talents for the country."

Yuan Keli looked at the dormitory below, and then gave instructions to the examiners present. This examiner was originally a hard worker, and now the emperor has ordered to extend the marking time. The marking cannot only be based on the first exam. Three exams are required. They all read the papers carefully, and for this reason, they even asked Gongyuan to cancel most of the banquets they had originally prepared, which made many examiners complain.

"Mr. Yuan, you have said too much. It is our honor to select talents for the country. I will do my best and dare not neglect."

These examiners are also suffering now. The original examination period was very long, and now there are five or six more days to be added. What's more important is that the cabinet is currently discussing the candidates for cabinet ministers and six ministers. When they go out, the day lilies are cold. These things have nothing to do with them now, and they can't even hear them. This is what makes them most troubled and aggrieved.

"Well, it's very good that you all can be loyal to the country. If you have nothing to do now, you can rest for now. You can go on patrol later. Don't slack off."

How could Yuan Keli not know what these people were thinking, but he felt that this was the best. It was very treacherous outside, and although hiding in Gongyuan was a bit tiring, it could avoid many unnecessary disputes.

After saying this, he led everyone downstairs and asked the examiners to distribute the first questions.

In this way, the first Enke examination in the Year of Apocalypse began.

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(End of this chapter)