The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 417 This Year's Imperial Examination
Zhang Wen Zhong also told Ying Gong about the things he should pay attention to in his future life. He knew in his heart that the old man was very old and probably didn't care about life or death anymore.

After leaving Jingyang County, Zhang Wen Zhong returned to Chang'an and hurried to the palace to meet His Majesty, where he met Li Yifu, who had also just arrived in Chang'an.

The other party came in a horse-drawn carriage. After just a quick glance, Zhang Wen Zhong walked into the city on his own.

On the days of the imperial examinations, the city of Chang'an would be quieter than usual. Even the vendors on Suzaku Street, who were supposed to be hawking their wares, would pull their goods and no longer shout loudly.

There were no drunks making trouble in the tavern, and no one was making loud noises. Everyone's emotions were focused on the end of the imperial examination.

A horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of Chang'an City. Li Yifu got off the carriage, and with him got off a mother and son, who were Luo Binwang and his mother.

The child looked up at the gate of Chang'an City and said, "Teacher, this Chang'an City is so big."

Li Yifu, who was wearing official uniform and had a short beard, said, "You will enter the government in the future. This will be the most glorious part of your life."

Luo Binwang asked: "How dare I ask you, teacher, your most glorious time in life was also in Chang'an?"

Li Yifu shook his head and said, "Not here, in the Hexi Corridor."

This time he came to Chang'an City to receive the document from the Censorate. After reporting the matter to the court, he would return to Yangzhou.

In fact, it was a special arrangement so that Luo Binwang could come and see the grand occasion of the imperial examination.

Luo Binwang was tired and did not reach the end of Zhuque Street.

I don’t know how long I walked, but I finally saw the team in front of the Suzaku Gate. It was a long line of students.

The eleven-year-old Luo Binwang looked at the students queuing in the distance with longing in his heart. He seemed to see himself standing in this line in the future.

In front of the Suzaku Gate, Wang Jiusi lined up at the back of the queue, ready to enter the Suzaku Gate one by one.

While waiting in line, I saw a middle-aged man walking towards me.

Wang Jiusi noticed the person coming and just stared at him without saying a word.

The man was wearing an official uniform. When he came to Wang Jiusi, he asked, "Why did you come to Chang'an to take the imperial examination?"

The person in front of him was his father, Wang Dezhen. In fact, it was only after he came to Chang'an that he learned that his father worked as a Langzhong in the Ministry of Personnel, a fifth-rank official.

Wang Jiusi whispered, "I will take the imperial examination on my own, so I don't need to tell you."

Wang Dezheng wanted to say something but stopped himself when he saw his son had walked into the Suzaku Gate and entered the imperial examination hall. He felt very guilty. He had neglected his family for so many years, and now that his son had come to find him, he seemed not to recognize him.

Inside the imperial city, rows of students lined up in front of their desks, waiting for the order to answer their exam questions.

There were 16,000 people taking the imperial examination this time, which was the largest examination since the Zhenguan period. The students taking the examination were lined up from Zhuque Gate to Chengtian Gate. If you sat in the front row, you would be able to see the Taiji Hall behind Chengtian Gate.

Wang Jiusi thought so in his mind, and then was led by a civil servant in the court to his seat.

As soon as he stood still, Wang Jiusi realized that the person next to him was Zhang Jianzhi, a talented man who enjoyed a high reputation in Chang'an City.

The other party seemed calm, but there was already a lot of sweat on his forehead. Even someone who had taken part in the imperial examinations for three consecutive years was very nervous.

More and more students were walking into the imperial city. When Wang Jiusi looked back, he saw a large group of people standing in neat rows in silence.

Today, the court specially suspended state affairs, and the officials in the court also vacated their positions for many students to take the imperial examinations.

More than 10,000 people were lined up neatly in the imperial city, and were even divided into several groups around government offices.

Every year during the imperial examination, Li Chengqian would stand on the city wall and watch the examination proceed smoothly.

This time standing on the top of the city wall, the scene was even grander and more solemn. The imperial city was heavily guarded, and the civil servants in charge of the examination were standing in this huge examination room that was like a chessboard.

The Minister of Works, Xu Xiaode, stood aside and said, "Your Majesty, we may have to build an examination hall next year. This year, the imperial city has undergone several adjustments before it can accommodate so many students."

Li Chengqian looked at the students one by one and said, "The Ministry of Works will draft the regulations first."

"Yes." Xu Xiaode just responded and said, "Your Majesty, in fact, there has been discussion in the court about dividing the students into batches for the examination."

"I know."

Xu Xiaode nodded, stepped aside in silence, and stood with Cen Wenben.

It is true as Your Majesty said, but we should still take one exam at a time and stop after we finish the exam. This is also what Your Majesty requested.

The weather was very sunny today. Pei Yan, who was standing at his position, looked up slightly. He saw the person standing on the city wall of Chengtian Gate. Although he was far away and could only vaguely see his figure, was he the legendary new emperor?

I heard that the Chengtian Gate was not so tall before. After the new emperor ordered it to be rebuilt, the Chengtian Gate became ten feet higher and five feet wider.

An hour later, when all the students stood in line, a bell rang, and all the students sat down immediately and began the exam.

Li Chengqian stood in front of the city gate, looked for a while, and then went down the city wall.

This year's imperial examination was very long, with the first session lasting from noon until dusk.

Di Renjie finally finished the test paper. After he handed it to the examiner, he looked back and saw some students leaving in groups of three or four.

"You can leave now."

After hearing the examiner's words, Di Renjie came back to his senses and turned to walk out of the examination room.

This time the imperial examination was still conducted anonymously. Di Renjie walked away step by step in silence under the gaze of the clerk beside him.

When he arrived outside the Suzaku Gate, Di Renjie met Prince Jin and Prince Ji.

Li Zhi put a hand on his shoulder and asked, "How did you do in the exam?"

Di Renjie frowned and said, "This year's imperial examination questions are very difficult, especially the policy essay on education and people, which also has to explain the key points for the next few years. It really took a lot of effort."

Li Shen looked towards the Suzaku Gate and asked, "Brother Jianzhi hasn't come out yet?"

Li Zhi said with a smile: "If you don't read books and study hard on weekdays, you probably won't be able to write."

As it was getting close to dusk, there were fewer and fewer students in the imperial examination hall, and most of them had finished answering their papers.

For the vast majority of students, this imperial examination was unprecedentedly difficult. Even most people did not expect that the court would put governance issues so directly on the examination paper. This was probably a question that only a prime minister could answer.

Di Renjie believes that the so-called religion and people can be answered in a very classical way. After all, as long as you read the history books carefully, you can make a summary and argument.

But if we look at it from a new perspective, we can also use the current strategies of Jingzhao Prefecture and Chongwenguan to explain the future of the Tang Dynasty.

Soon the last group of students taking the exam came out, and Di Renjie met Pei Yan and Lu Zhaolin.

After the two men walked out of the examination room, they went to their respective residences.

Many students were also exhausted physically and mentally. After Zhang Jianzhi came out, he sat on the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's so difficult."

Also coming out were Wang Jiusi and Yan Zhaofu.

Zhuque Street became lively again as people celebrated the imperial examination.

This year's imperial examination was divided into three sessions, lasting three days. Several years of hard study were put into practice in these three days of examinations.

Di Renjie brought Prince Jin, Prince Ji, and Zhang Jianzhi back home.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard his mother and father scolding him. This was a common occurrence at home, and Di Renjie was used to it.

Seeing this, Li Zhi whispered, "Your mother is too fierce." Di Renjie invited the three people into the yard and explained, "Since my grandfather passed away, my mother has been blaming my father."

Li Shen asked curiously: "Why?"

Di Renjie continued, "Back then, my father came to Chang'an to serve as an official at the order of my grandfather. At that time, Mr. Wen Yanbo did not agree to recommend him. After that, my grandfather passed away, and my father was not with him. It was my mother who came to Chang'an in mourning and informed my father."

"In fact, my mother has been doing this for my father's own good. First, with my mother's rebuke, no one will say that my father is unfilial. It's just that a son doesn't know his father when he is away from home. Second, in order to discipline my father, she feels guilty and lives a simple life. Third...if my father lives too well, people will talk about it."

After saying this, Di Renjie led the three of them to his parents.

Di Zhixun bowed and said, "Your Highness Prince Jin, Your Highness Prince Ji."

Di Renjie said, "Mother, I have brought Prince Jin and Prince Ji home. Please prepare some more food."

"I know, I know." Mother Di looked at the children and went about her work with a smile on her face.

Several people sat down, and Zhang Jianzhi asked Di Renjie how he answered.

Di Renjie said: "I used all the knowledge from Jingzhao Prefecture. The teacher taught me a lot every day, so it was not too difficult for me."

Zhang Jianzhi nodded and said, "I have read all the history books, so I will probably be right."

Li Zhi said: "Jianzhi, you should prepare to fail the exam."

Zhang Jianzhi hung his head and said dejectedly: "If I fail again this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to play with Prince Jin and Prince Ji anymore."

Li Shen took out an orange from his sleeve, peeled it and ate it, saying, "Actually, if you pass the imperial examination, you can't play with us like this, because you have to teach for two years. Even if you don't have to teach, you have to go to the guards in various places to train for two years."

Hearing this, Zhang Jianzhi said disdainfully: "Six years have passed, these two years are nothing."

Li Shen shared the peeled oranges with Di Renjie and Li Zhi. "These are oranges grown in Guanzhong. They were grown by people from Sinong Temple. They are very sour."

Di Renjie took a bite and his face turned bitter because it was indeed so sour. Only His Royal Highness Prince Ji seemed to be eating with gusto.

Li Zhi whispered, "Brother Shen has loved eating oranges since he was a child. He can eat a whole basket at a time."

Li Shen nodded and said, "That's right. My brother knows that I love to eat oranges, so he specially asked someone to plant an orange tree in Shuzhong. I can't eat all of them every year."

The royal brother that Prince Ji was referring to is naturally the current Majesty.

In fact, Your Majesty is very good to Prince Jin and Prince Ji. Apart from being a little strict in his discipline, he will give them whatever they want, no matter if they are his younger brothers or sisters. Even when Princess Dongyang wanted to build a large hospital, Your Majesty gave her a princess fiefdom of 3,000 acres.

The King of Jin also wanted to make something, and many craftsmen were given to him, all of whom were craftsmen with excellent skills from the Shaofu Supervisor.

After they had dinner, Prince Jin and Prince Ji returned to their palace, and Zhang Jianzhi also returned home.

But on this night, in the residence of the Du family in Jingzhao Prefecture.

Du He looked at his brother Du Gou and said, "Now you can donate the books to Chongwenguan."

Du Gou shook his head and said, "The Yang family in Huayin County did not hand over the books to Chongwenguan either."

Du He advised: "Brother, the government has already issued the decree."

Looking at his younger brother, Du Gou said coldly, "I am your elder brother! I am also the head of the Du family. You don't need to tell me."

Du He took a step back and said, "Brother, things are different now."

"You also know that the present is different from the past. When you were doing business, did you care about the reputation of the Jingzhao Du family?"

Du He was so angry that he overturned the table.

Du Gou was so angry that he trembled and pointed at his brother and said, "Next year you will marry Yang from Hongnong."

Du He whispered, "I already have someone I like, I don't need your advice."

A member of the Du family also advised: "Master Du He, an elder brother is like a father..."

Du He waved his sleeves, pushed away the people around him, turned around and looked at Du Gou and said, "My Jingzhao Du family is not under your control alone."

After saying that, Du He left.

Du Gou was so angry that he smashed the things in front of him.

Du He left Chang'an City overnight and came to a group of buildings west of Weinan County, where a technical institute was being built.

The moonlight shining on the building seemed very quiet, and it also calmed Du He's heart a lot.

"I heard that you and the Du family have fallen out again?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Du He suddenly laughed at himself and said, "Different experiences lead to different prejudices. My brother has always had a prejudice against me."

"That's him being pedantic."

The voice of the woman behind him was very pleasant to hear. At least Du He felt that it was the most pleasant voice in the world.

She added: "Not to mention the Tang Dynasty's hundred-year plan, in the next few years, future production and construction will be centered here."

Du He said: "I hope so."

"Hopefully?" The woman's voice was a little more suspicious. "You spent several years planting the seeds. This will be the most brilliant place in the future. I don't want to let Jingzhao Du's family ruin it."

Du He turned around, looked at the woman in men's clothing and said, "For you, this is all very simple."

"Whether it's the Du family or this place, it's easy for me to settle this matter. Even my brother has already made arrangements."

After saying this, she got on her horse and said, "I'm going back."

As she rode away, a group of guards followed.

Du He was still staring at the buildings in a daze, without saying a word.

Inside the palace, Li Chengqian was looking at a scroll, which was again sent by Guo Luotuo.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has a message for you."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Go ahead."

The old eunuch said, "It is said that Princess Changle went to see Du He again."

Li Chengqian asked again: "Does your Majesty take the private affairs of my brothers and sisters so seriously?"

The old eunuch smiled awkwardly again.

Li Chengqian said: "I understand, you should go to bed early."

"Here."

The next day, the second imperial examination was to be held. Du Gou had just sent several children of the Du family in Jingzhao Prefecture to take the examination. When he was about to turn around and leave, he ran into a man head-on.

"Du Gou, the legitimate son of Duke Lai, the one who inherited the title, Master Du Gou?"

Du Gou looked at the newcomer warily and asked, "Who are you?"

(End of this chapter)