Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 79: The New Number One Scholar
Li Zhi rested in the palace for one night. The next day, he led his ministers to climb the mountain to offer sacrifices. The rituals were complicated and the worship was not completed until the afternoon.

Everyone stayed in the palace for another night.

It was not until dawn the next day that he set out to return to Chang'an. Around the hour of You, Li Zhi finally returned to Taiji Palace.

He finally understood why there was a four-day holiday for the Cold Food Festival. Three days would have passed if he went there and back. How could he not have a four-day holiday?

After the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival, the troubles facing Changsun Wuji seemed to have calmed down, and the undercurrents beneath the surface had not yet stirred up too big waves.

At noon that day, after Li Zhi had gone to the Feilong Stables to race his horse, he asked Xue Rengui, "Mr. Xue, is today the day when the imperial examination results are announced?"

Xue Rengui, who had been following this matter closely, replied, "Your Majesty, the list will be announced today at noon."

Li Zhi asked, "Do you know who the number one scholar is?"

Xue Rengui said, "I asked Xu Xiaode, and he said that the number one scholar was Gao Youdao."

Given Gao Youdao's current reputation, Xu Xiaode didn't dare to choose anyone else as the top scholar.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Gao Youdao is willing to serve the country again this time, thanks to Xue Qing's persuasion. You should go to the Ministry of Personnel's branch to see the announcement and congratulate Gao Youdao."

Xue Rengui gladly accepted the order.

A large number of candidates had gathered in Guanglufang, outside the Ministry of Personnel's courtyard.

The list had already been released in late February, but the emperor suddenly issued an edict, saying that the chief examiner had leaked the questions and cheated, and the qualifications of dozens of Jinshi were disqualified, and the list had to be released again.

For those candidates who failed the exam, this is undoubtedly a blessing from heaven.

Wherever there are people, there are business opportunities.

Some clever vendors had already set up stalls outside the courtyard, selling snacks, fruits, wine, tea, and everything else!
Gao Youdao, Lu Zhaolin and Du Yijian were sitting in a tea stall, all of them craning their necks and looking towards the courtyard.

Suddenly, a person walked out of the courtyard, and all the candidates rushed towards that person like a wave, and Gao Youdao and the other two also stood up.

The man turned out to be a minor official from the Ministry of Personnel. He shouted, "Don't worry, don't worry. The chief examiner just gave the order to re-verify the list. The results will be announced in half an hour!"

Du Yijian smiled and said, "This new examiner is quite cautious."

Lu Zhaolin laughed and said, "How can I not be cautious? The former chief examiner, Cui Wenhan, was sentenced to death and will be executed in the autumn. If I were the chief examiner, I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully at night."

Gao Youdao laughed and said, "Don't even mention him. I can't sleep well at night."

Du Yijian laughed and scolded, "You've even been commended by the Saint himself, so what's there to be uneasy about? I'm the one who's the most restless!"

Lu Zhaolin smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't sleep last night either."

Du Yijian glanced at him and said, "What do you have to worry about? I made it to the top of the list last time, so I'm sure I'll be able to do it this time too."

Lu Zhaolin shook his head and said, "Who can guarantee that among those who failed the exam, there won't be someone as talented as Brother Gao?"

Du Yijian smiled bitterly and said, "Stop talking. If you continue, I won't dare to look at the list."

At this moment, a loud voice came from a distance: "When did Brother Du become so cowardly?"

The three of them looked up and saw that the person coming was Di Renjie.

Du Yijian scolded, "You are already a high-ranking official of the fourth rank. A well-fed man does not understand the hunger of a hungry man. Of course, you don't understand our feelings."

Di Renjie walked over to an empty seat and was about to sit down when he heard this and said with a smile, "I was going to tell you some good news, but if you say that, then I'm leaving!"

Du Yijian hurriedly grabbed him and said, "No, don't even think about leaving until you finish talking!"

Di Renjie smiled, sat down on the chair, and said, "Don't worry, you three have all made the list, especially Brother Gao, who topped the list and is the new top scholar!"

Gao Youdao couldn't help but tremble with joy, and asked, "Seriously?"

Di Renjie laughed and said, "How could it be true? I have already asked Minister Xu for clarification."

Du Yijian hurriedly asked, "What about me?"

Di Renjie laughed and said, "Second and third place are occupied by others. Brother Lu is probably ranked seventh or eighth. As for Brother Du, he probably didn't perform well and only got second place."

Du Yijian smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, why do I suddenly feel unhappy?"

Lu Zhaolin laughed and scolded, "Push the corner of your mouth down before you say that!"

Du Yijian laughed heartily and said, "Let's go to Qingfeng Tower. I'll treat you to a meal."

Gao Youdao looked at the south wall and said, "Don't worry, let's wait for the results to be announced."

Lu Zhaolin laughed and said, "Brother Di, he doesn't trust you!"

Di Renjie said, "It's okay. Just wait a little longer to prevent any unexpected events."

In fact, Lu and Du were reluctant to leave immediately. They all wanted to see their names hanging on the gold list with their own eyes.

Half an hour later, the list came out as expected. A clerk from the Ministry of Personnel climbed up a ladder and posted it high on the south wall.

All the candidates immediately crowded over, vying to see the list. Du Yijian was thin and squeezed to the front.

Looking up, he saw that Gao Youdao was indeed the first on the gold list. Looking back, Lu Zhaolin was eighth and he was twenty-second.

Du Yijian laughed out loud, raised his hands above his head, and shouted, "Father, Mother, our son passed the high school entrance exam! Brother Gao, Brother Lu, we passed, we all passed!"

However, the surroundings were too noisy, filled with shouts, laughter, tears, and all sorts of life. Xue Rengui stood silently in the distance, watching the scene before him, feeling quite emotional.

Before he joined the army, he actually had a dream of passing the imperial examination, but unfortunately his family was poor and he could not afford to buy books, so he could only bury his dream deep in his heart.

Although he is now a military general, he still reads for an hour every night to fulfill his childhood dreams.

Not long after, Gao Youdao and his companions squeezed out of the crowd. Except for Di Renjie, the other three had smiles on their faces.

Xue Rengui strode over and said, "Mr. Gao, congratulations."

When Gao Youdao saw him, he was overjoyed and said, "How long Gao can survive depends entirely on General Xue!"

He turned to Lu Zhaolin and the other two and said, "Brothers, please go to Qingfeng Tower first. I need to go somewhere and will come find you later."

Lu Zhaolin thought he had something to say to Xue Rengui, so he smiled and said, "Okay, we'll wait for you at Qingfeng Tower."

Gao Youdao bowed to Di Renjie and the other two, and left the Ministry of Personnel's compound with Xue Rengui.

After leaving Guanglufang, Xue Rengui asked, "Where do you want to go, Brother Gao?"

Gao Youdao smiled and said, "The place you took me to last time."

Xue Rengui's eyebrows twitched, and he smiled slightly, saying, "Very good."

The two walked west along the street, and soon they arrived at the blacksmith shop in Xuanyangfang.

Entering the shop, the blacksmiths greeted Xue Rengui warmly. Someone also recognized Gao Youdao and smiled at him, "Isn't this the young man from last time? Why are you here again?"

Xue Rengui laughed and said, "I'm not just an ordinary young man, I'm the new number one scholar!"

All the blacksmiths were shocked and looked at Gao Youdao in astonishment.

Gao Youdao smiled slightly, bowed to everyone, and said to Xue Rengui, "General Xue, I'll go in and see General Pang."

Xue Rengui smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll wait for you outside."

After he left, the other blacksmiths all rushed to ask questions.

"General Xue, is that young man really the new top scholar? Why is he saluting us?"

"Hehe, it seems like he's changed a lot!"

"Isn't it? The last time you came here, you looked bitter and resentful, as if your parents had died. This time, you look much more energetic."

Xue Rengui briefly told them about Gao Youdao's affairs.

Before he could finish, Gao Youdao walked out with a saddle in his hand.

Xue Rengui laughed and said, "What did you say to General Pang that made him willing to give you a saddle?"

Gao Youdao smiled and said, "I just told him that his saddle can not only save the lives of soldiers on the battlefield, but also help scholars pass the imperial examinations."

All the blacksmiths were curious about him at this time, and they surrounded him and asked him questions.

Gao Youdao was grateful to everyone, so he sat on a chair and answered everyone's questions one by one.

Upon seeing this, Xue Rengui quietly left the blacksmith shop and returned to the palace to report to Li Zhi.

After passing through Chengtian Gate and arriving at Ganlu Palace, the eunuch told him that the emperor was not in Ganlu Palace and had been invited by the empress to Lizheng Palace.

……

In the Lizheng Hall, Li Zhi was sitting on Wu Meiniang's phoenix chair with a frown on his face, reading a letter.

This is a secret letter written by Wang Wendu to Wu Meiniang, which records all of Cheng Zhijie's recent actions.

Wu Meiniang said softly, "Jiulang, I didn't want to bother you with such a trivial matter, but the things recorded in Wang Wendu's letter made me very worried, so I had to report it."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "You did the right thing. Cheng Zhijie went too far this time."

According to Wang Wendu's report, after Cheng Zhijie led his troops to Liangzhou, he ordered the army to station at the border of Liangzhou and stop marching.

When the soldiers asked Cheng Zhijie why he set up camp, he did not explain, but just said that he knew what to do. He also drank and had fun in the tent every night.

Li Zhi naturally knew that Cheng Zhijie was definitely not the kind of incompetent general who was greedy for pleasure. He must have other reasons for doing this.

However, no matter what the reason, such behavior is undoubtedly a waste of manpower and food, and consumes the morale of the Tang army.

Li Zhi could no longer tolerate it.

Wu Meiniang said softly, "Jiulang, you don't have to worry too much. Now that Zhangsun Wuji has retired, Cheng Zhijie can be transferred back at any time."

Li Zhi glanced at her and said, "Who does the Queen think would be a good replacement for Cheng Zhijie?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Jiulang, it's up to you to make your own decision. I dare not speak rashly."

Li Zhi nodded, thought for a moment, and said to Wang Fusheng, "Is Xue Qing back?"

Wang Fusheng said softly, "Everyone, General Xue is in Ganlu Palace awaiting your orders."

Li Zhi patted Wu Meiniang's hand and said, "Then I'll go back first." He stood up and left Lizheng Hall and returned to Ganlu Hall.

(End of this chapter)