I'm so hard

Chapter 168
On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, the weather was dry, cold and sunny.

After breakfast, Zhao Yan took Hei Wa straight to Fugui Village outside the city.

Today's Fugui Village has changed from a gathering place of Huazi to the wealthiest village outside Changdan City. Every household has built a small courtyard, found errands, and some even started businesses.

Bai Shengjiang, the former head of the Huazi Gang, became the head of Fugui Village. The very strong Erhu also married a wife. He is currently working as a steward in an inn outside Changdan City, and his life is completely on the right track.

Hei Wa drove the carriage straight to Bai Shengjiang's courtyard.

When Bai Shengjiang saw Zhao Yan, his whole body trembled, tears flowed down his face, and he was about to kneel down.

If there is no Zhao Yan, then Fugui Village must still be a nest of flowers!
"Major Bai, this time I'm visiting in private, so you don't need to kneel down." Zhao Yan said with a smile, while Hei Wa quickly helped Bai Shengjiang up.

Immediately, Zhao Yan entered the house.

Bai Shengjiang quickly asked the younger generation to make tea and prepared some fruits.

"Village Chief Bai, how are the villagers in Fugui Village doing this year?" Zhao Yan asked with a smile after sitting down.

"Okay, very good! I couldn't eat dumplings during Chinese New Year before, but now I can eat dumplings every day, and young people in the village can also marry wives. They are all full of energy and energy!" Bai Shengjiang The words are excited, especially excited.

Seeing his satisfied expression, Zhao Yan couldn't help feeling a sense of pride, which showed that he, the emperor, had done a pretty good job.

Immediately afterwards, the two began to chat.

Bai Shengjiang told Zhao Yan a lot of interesting things that happened in Fugui Village in the past year, and some practical things that some officials did for them, and Zhao Yan laughed from time to time.

Soon, an hour passed.

"Major Bai, I won't be leaving at noon today, let's drink some wine and have a good chat." Zhao Yan said with a smile.

When Bai Shengjiang heard this, he was immediately flattered, and quickly stood up and said, "Then...the old man sent someone to Wanbaolou to order a table of wine and food."

"No... no need, I will eat the dumplings made by your family today, and as for the wine, I will drink the rice wine made by you!" Zhao Yan pointed to Hei Wa by the way, and said: "I am a guard who can eat very much. You have to be full at noon!"

"Caomin obey, my old woman made dumplings, I guarantee that His Majesty will not get tired of eating them!" Bai Shengjiang smiled brightly, and being able to eat with His Majesty today, he felt that his life had been fulfilled.

At noon, Zhao Yan and Bai Shengjiang sat at a table of the Eight Immortals, ate dumplings and drank rice wine.

Zhao Yan, who is used to delicacies from mountains and seas, couldn't help but whet his appetite when he ate the dumplings made by the common people, and he ate three plates.

As for Hei Wa, she ate by the pot.

After eating, Zhao Yan remembered the business he was going to do in Fugui Village.

"Major Bai, how many people are over 60 years old in Fugui Village?"

Bai Shengjiang thought for a while and said, "If women are not counted, there are probably more than 30 people. I need to investigate the exact number."

"Tomorrow morning, can you gather all these old people together, including you, and I will send someone to take you to Jixianyuan. You need to live there for half a month, and everyone will be rewarded, how about it?"

Jixianyuan?
Bai Shengjiang is no stranger to this place. When he was young, he also participated in the imperial examination, and those who passed the examination could enter Jixian Academy, and then wait for the imperial court to assign official positions.

"The grassroots must obey. It's just that we, a group of old men who can't resist and can't write with our hands, are going to a place like Jixian Yuan. What are we doing?" Bai Shengjiang was very puzzled.

Zhao Yan smiled slightly: "You will know tomorrow, anyway, it's a good job."

The next day, just after dawn, a large number of courtiers stood at the gate of Jixian Yuan.

Among them, the deputy examiners of this year's imperial examinations, Cai You, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Shangguan, the official censor, were not happy.

Last night, they received an order from Zhao Yan. Early this morning, the chief examiner will be received by the Imperial Army Commander Shen Tuyi from Jixian Academy.

All the courtiers are very curious about who is qualified to be the chief examiner for this session.

About half an hour later, Shen Tuyi rode a tall horse and led a line of soldiers.

And behind him, there are six large carriages pulling.

Shangguan Buyue and others at the door were all taken aback, not knowing which car was sitting in the examiner.

Immediately, Shen Tuyi got off his horse and walked to the gate of Jixian Yuan.

Cai You, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, immediately went up and asked, "Commander Shentu, is the chief examiner sitting in this carriage?"

Shen Tuyi nodded.

"May I ask which car is the chief examiner sitting in?"

"All six are sitting."

"There are six examiners this year?" Cai You looked puzzled.

"No, not six, it's 36!"

"what?"

All the ministers around were stunned.

Not to mention 36 chief examiners, even if two chief examiners are appointed at the same time, it has never appeared in the history of Dazhou.

Shen Tuyi waved his hand to the soldiers of the Forbidden Army behind him, and the latter immediately lifted the curtain.

Immediately afterwards, gray-haired old men stepped down from the carriage.

These old people were all wearing new clothes, and their shoes seemed to be worn for the first time, but from their curious expressions, it could be seen that these people were all from poor backgrounds, and they were all ordinary people.

"Your Majesty wants 36 elders who are over sixty years old to be the chief examiners? Then... how should the test questions be chosen?" Cai You and Shen Tuyi looked puzzled.

Shen Tuyi seemed to have seen the thoughts of all the ministers, and immediately said with a smile: "In a moment, His Majesty will visit Jixian Yuan in person, let's invite all the elders into the courtyard!"

Soon, the ministers invited these people into the Jixian Academy where the fragrance of books and ink was floating.

It's just that the ministers don't know how these people are going to be the chief examiners, and these people are also confused, and don't know what they want to do at all.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Yan came to Jixianyuan.

After seeing the simple smiles on the faces of these 36 [-]-year-olds, Zhao Yan couldn't help reconfirming his thoughts again, and he found the right examiner.

Soon, the officials of Jixian Academy and 36 elderly people were summoned in the hall.

Now, the main person in charge of Jixian Academy is not the dean Liu Chaotong, but Cai You and Shangguan are unhappy.

All officials of the Jixian Academy must devote themselves to completing various matters of this year's imperial examination in the coming days, and other matters can be postponed later.

Zhao Yan sat on the top, looked around, and said: "Everyone, I chose the common people as the chief examiners of this year's imperial examination. And these 36 old men are representatives of the common people in my Dazhou. You can ask them from any angle. Ideas, based on this, formulate test questions."

"Perhaps, you all think that this is a bit of a joke. What I want to say is that I have never been so serious. Only those who can please the people are good officials, and the greatest use of the imperial examination is to select officials. If we can't listen How can we choose the officials that the people like if we act according to the voice of the people!"

"I have no objection to using Confucian classics and poems and poems as the criteria for selecting officials, but as an official, these are just basic knowledge. Apart from being able to do these things, he also needs to know more about the lives of ordinary people. ? If you can only make articles but not be an official, then what is the use of it?" Zhao Yan said with amplified voice.

Those who can please the people are good officials.

You can only write but not be an official, so what's the use of it!
These two words will soon spread throughout Changdan City, and even the entire Great Zhou.

Immediately, Zhao Yan looked displeased at Cai You and Shangguan again.

"Cai You, the Shangguan is not happy. I have left enough room for you to exercise power and play this time. I don't care what method you use to communicate with these 36 old men, no matter what form and exam questions you use, I only care about it. Can you pick out the real pillars of my great Zhou?"

"No matter what problems and difficulties you have, you can report them at any time. I will try my best to meet your needs. But if the scholars you select perform mediocrely in the palace examination, then I will definitely punish you severely!"

"I obey the order!" Cai You and Shangguan said at the same time, clasping their hands. They could hear that Zhao Yan attached great importance to this imperial examination, and included the imperial examination in the process of the reform and reform of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

After finishing speaking, Zhao Yan drove away.

……

In less than half a day, the news that Dazhou chose 36 people who were over sixty years old as the chief examiners spread throughout Changdan City.

Scholars participating in the imperial examination were a little dazed when they heard the news, because they really couldn't guess which direction this year's exam questions would focus on.

The scholars discussed together for a long time, but they didn't have any definite direction.

At the same time, the date of the imperial examination was also fixed.

Examination dates for Tie Jing, Mo Yi, Poetry and Fu, and Policy Theory are February 23, February 25, February 28, and February [-] respectively.

The palace examination time is on March [-]th, then the papers are read on March [-]th, and the results are released on March [-]th.

After the date was confirmed, the vast number of scholars and scholars felt a sense of urgency. Some scholars who wandered around Goulan tiles began to read books. not out.

The imperial examination is the most important thing in life. As long as you can get on the list, you can get fame, wealth, women and so on very quickly.

The examinees also thought about it. It was meaningless to continue to study the direction of the imperial examination questions. It was better to read a few more classic books and expand their vocabulary.

Therefore, all the candidates no longer discussed the direction of the test questions, but began to work hard secretly.

Examiners are busy, but those scholars who do not take the imperial examination are very leisurely. According to the practice of once every three years, this year's Qing Yunbang is released again.

The so-called Qingyun list is to predict who will be able to rank in high school Jinshi, but the Qingyun list only lists the top ten, and the top ten are the most likely to win the title of champion!

This time, the place where the Qingyun list was released was Wanbaolou.

This ranking is a ranking made by many scholars based on the talents currently displayed by the candidates who participated in the imperial examination. It is very convincing among the people, and every three years, there is at least one talent on the list. among.

This prediction rate is already quite high.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, at dusk.

The Wanbao building was full of people, and the streets outside, as well as the teahouses on the left and right, were also full of people.

Everyone is waiting, waiting for the Qing Yun list to be released.

The Qingyun List is a kind of recognition for those who are on the list, and a spur for those who are not on the list, letting them know where the gap is.

But at this moment, the face of Wan Hong, the owner of Wanbao Tower, was almost happy.

Because of the Qingyun List, the business of Wanbaolou has skyrocketed several times compared to before the end of the year, and he announced the list, which proves that Wanbaolou is the first floor of Changdan.

After a while, Wan Hong came to the center of the lobby on the first floor of Wanbao Building with a piece of paper.

The moment he stood there, the surroundings quickly fell silent.

Wan Hong looked around, and then said loudly: "Next, I will announce to everyone the top ten list of this year's Imperial Examination Qingyun Ranking."

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Wan Hong opened the folded note, and said loudly: "No.10 on the Qingyun List, Quanzhou Tangyi."

"Mr. Tang was born in a scholarly family. Three years ago, he was hailed as the number one talented scholar in Quanzhou. His writing style is elegant, and he is especially good at policy discussions..."

After Wan Hong finished reading his name, he talked about his life story and personal masterpieces.So that people who are not familiar with them can quickly understand.

"No.9, Ren Changyue of Yunzhou.

……

"No.6, Liu Jingming from Chuzhou."

……

"No.4, Luzhou Ximen Chude."

"No.3, Shangguan Yuntun in Changdan City."

As soon as they heard that Shangguan Yuntun was ranked No.3, many scholars couldn't help discussing, and they were full of expectations for the top two.

"In my eyes, Shangguan Yuntun is the most likely to become the No. 3 pick. He was ranked No.[-]. I really don't know if there is anyone better than him in my big week!"

"Hey, I still don't have me this year. I also have the appearance of the top pick in high school. Why didn't anyone choose me?"

"This year is probably another year of running with me, I'd better go home and read a few more pages!"

……

"No.2, Hangzhou Wu Wenyuan." Wan Hong continued to read.

When some scholars heard the word Wu Wenyuan, they were taken aback for a moment, and then showed a dazed expression. They obviously felt that this person deserved his title as No. 2 on the Qingyun List.

Wu Wenyuan, who became famous at a young age, was able to compose poems in seven steps at the age of eight. He was quite famous for his talent. Many of his articles sold very well at the bookstalls in Changdan. Comparable.

Someone once described two people: Shangguan in the north and Wenyuan in the south.

When Wu Wenyuan was in Hangzhou, he never had to pay for meals, lodging or visiting brothels.

Because of his talent and the celebrity effect he brought, it is enough to make the shopkeeper willingly pay for him.

Next, everyone held their breath and looked at Wan Hong.

No one has ever heard of such a peerless talent who can overwhelm Shangguan Yuntun and Wu Wenyuan.According to common sense, if this person is more powerful than Shangguan Yuntun and Wu Wenyuan, it is impossible for everyone to guess that he is unknown!

At this time, Wan Hong slowly opened the folded note.

(End of this chapter)