Tiantang

Chapter 300
Chapter 308 Kai Enke
As soon as Zhang Xuan returned to his bedroom, Zhang Li came to report. Since the morning, many courtiers and dignitaries had posted greetings, but Zhang Li blocked them all.

As the chief manager of the palace, Zhang Li knew very well that his master had just returned to the mansion, and today he was afraid that he would be alone with the concubine and other family members, and would not see outsiders again.

But Zhang Li sent away batch after batch of visitors without being humble, but a large group of young scholars who came to pay homage gathered at the door, and they went to Beijing to participate in the Tianbao Thirteen Years Spring Festival.

A group of disciples lingered outside the gate of the mansion and clamored to see King Yongning, so Zhang Li had no choice but to report to Zhang Xuan for a decision.

Zhang Xuan was born as a scholar, and also known as a great talent. His reputation among scholars has been raised to a peak because of his unrivaled meritorious deeds. They came in droves, rushing over continuously.

When Zhang Li turned around and reported, the number of people more than doubled, almost blocking the entire small square in front of Yongning Palace and the Gongde Memorial.

In the Tang Dynasty, the promotion of scientific examinations required someone to recommend them, so it was a social custom for scholars who rushed to the examinations to pay homage everywhere.

Zhang Xuan was having lunch with Cui Ying, because he got up late, this breakfast was combined with lunch.

"My lord, a large group of scholars rushing to take the exam came outside the door, clamoring and wanting to see the lord, no matter how much I tried to persuade and stop them, they couldn't stop them, they gathered outside the gate of the house and did not leave——My lord, do you want to send someone out? Boom, boom?" Zhang Li said respectfully.

Zhang Xuan put down the chopsticks in his hand, frowned and said, "Don't do this, forcibly driving them away will cause trouble. Forget it, let me go out and meet them."

……

……

The gate of Yongning Prince's Mansion slowly opened, first two rows of heavily guarded guards came out, Nan Jiyun led the team out, stood on the tall steps of the Palace and shouted loudly, "My lord agrees to meet with all the scholars, but please Take a few steps back, don't make any noise, be quiet!"

Nan Jiyun led the guards as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and slowly "expelled" the crowd of scholars together, lest when Zhang Xuan came out, the crowd would riot and the situation would get out of control.

It's not that Zhang Xuan is arrogant, but that Nan Jiyun is worried about his safety and has to do it.

Zhang Xuan walked out of the mansion gate slowly, looked around, and couldn't help being surprised.

He originally thought that the "large group" in Zhang Li's mouth was just dozens of scholars, but when he saw it on the ground, there were at least hundreds of people, and, from his perspective, there were still some scholars on the far corner of the street. They kept coming over.

Zhang Xuan gasped, and couldn't help but smile wryly.

"King Yongning is here..."

"King Yongning, Xiaoke Liuyan, a scholar of Jiangzhou, is here to pay his respects..."

"Ma Ping, a scholar of Lower Mengzhou, pays homage to King Yongning..."

Seeing Zhang Xuan's appearance, the calm crowd of scholars suddenly became agitated, and all kinds of shouts were heard endlessly.

Nan Jiyun led the guards and shouted very nervously, "Back, back, don't move forward, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet! Don't make any noise!"

"Everyone, don't worry, this king is right here!" Zhang Xuan shouted loudly, "You guys are so crowded and crowded, causing the gentleness to sweep the floor! Don't forget, you are scholars, you must have the demeanor and decency of scholars!"

Zhang Xuan's loud shout was far more effective than the deterrence of Nan Jiyun's guards. The crowd gradually calmed down, and as long as they are calm, there will be order.

Zhang Xuan stepped up to the next step, smiled slightly, and said loudly, "I can understand everyone's feelings. I am also a scholar, and I know that I have been a scholar for ten years and only made contributions when I was named on the gold list. To serve the imperial court. However, so many people have come to me, and I can’t satisfy everyone’s request one by one... From my point of view, you should go back and prepare for the exam with peace of mind, as long as you have real talents and learning, you will surely succeed in the day!"

Although Zhang Xuan said this on his lips, he was actually like a mirror in his heart.

Most of the "children of high-ranking cadres" who were able to rely on connections, go through the back door, make friends with dignitaries and were finally admitted were "children of high-ranking cadres". The imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty gave these "children of high-ranking cadres" the upper hand and took advantage of it.As for the children of ordinary people who are "smeared in both eyes" in the officialdom, those who can pass the imperial examination to become an official are very rare.

But this is the general social environment, and Zhang Xuan can't do anything about it.At least, now he is powerless to change this situation.Not to mention that in this heyday of the Tang Dynasty, even in the modern age in which he lived in his previous life, the only way for common people to get promoted is to pass the college entrance examination.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan refused to come forward to recommend him, the scholars who had some good deeds became restless, standing in the crowd and clamoring.

Zhang Xuan frowned, and shouted in a cold voice, "If someone is causing trouble in front of my palace, don't blame the Tang Dynasty for its ruthless laws!"

"You guys, I, Nianer and others, are scholars, so I don't care about it. If you dare to make noise again, I will definitely punish you severely!"

Zhang Xuan stood there in awe-inspiring manner, waving his hands angrily, exuding an unparalleled aura of majesty.

He has been in the top position for a long time, and he is a prince who controls military power. At the same time, he has been in battle for a long time, and he has already honed a demeanor and temperament that is not angry and self-prestige.

"Everyone knows that the king led the Longshuo army to conquer the territory of Tubo repeatedly, and the entire land of Tuyuhun's hometown of thousands of miles has been included in our territory. With such a huge area, the imperial court wants to establish prefectures and counties. Whether it is development and management, Whether it is village farming or immigration, a large number of talents are needed.”

"This king is going to play the imperial court recently, for the new two prefectures and three counties to open a special envoy. It will be held before the spring of this year to select talents. If you want to make contributions and go to Longshuo Qinghai with this king to rule our frontier, you can sign up to participate. Enke."

Zhang Xuan talked emotionally, waved his hands and said loudly, "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. If you have read poetry and books, if you have a passion for blood, you can follow the example of the ancients. This king will sweep the couch in Qinghai in Longshuo to welcome you! "

After speaking, Zhang Xuan didn't stay any longer, turned around and strode back to the mansion.Nan Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief, led the guards back to the mansion, and then ordered his servants to close the gate of the mansion tightly.

In order to develop and manage the newly-occupied Tuyuhun hometown, Enke was specially opened, which was also Zhang Xuan's flash of inspiration after returning to Beijing.

The imperial court is about to set up two prefectures and three prefectures (Dongning prefecture, Xining prefecture, Wuhai prefecture, Dulan prefecture, and Shaliuhe prefecture) in the hometown of Tuyuhun, implementing the same governance model as the mainland, which requires a large number of civil servants to be stationed to build a system to maintain the operation administrative system.

However, if it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to select candidates from the current central imperial court and various state capitals, it is better to set up Enke to recruit scholars, and then the imperial court will appoint them uniformly and send them to Qinghai.

Zhang Xuan briefly mentioned this matter with Li Heng during the banquet in the palace yesterday, and Li Heng agreed in principle, but the specific details of some operations still need to be worked out by the Ministry of Rites.

……

……

After receiving the exact news, Zheng Shilin, a Hanlin scholar, was overjoyed. He was naturally very happy to be able to climb up to Zhang Xuan, a new nobleman, but he dared not offend because Sheng Wang Li Qi was there.But now with Zhang Xuan's support, Sheng Wang's pressure is no longer pressure.

Without any hesitation, Zheng Shilin sent a matchmaker to Zhang Jiuming's mansion early this morning to propose marriage. Of course, the two parties "hit it off", and quickly completed the first few procedures for concluding the marriage, and confirmed the marriage contract between Zhang Xuemei and Zheng Jie.

When the news reached Prince Sheng's residence, Li Qi was furious and felt that his face was seriously hurt.

Although Zhang Xuemei was good-looking, Sheng Wang Li Qi, as a member of the royal family, did not have any beauties in the mansion. The reason why he "persevered" towards Zhang Xuemei was nothing more than Zhang Xuan.Unexpectedly, despite his great hospitality, Zhang Jiuming declined.

Li Qi was dissatisfied, although he couldn't retaliate and suppress Zhang Jiuming, he put aside his words: Who dares to marry a woman that the king can't get?That's probably what it means.

"Zheng Shilin is so courageous..." Li Qi sneered, and stood up abruptly, "I want to see, where does his ambition and courage come from?"

Li Qi actually didn't know that Zhang Xuemei and Zheng Shilin's son, Zheng Jie, were in love with each other and secretly collaborated on the song. If he knew this, it would not be difficult to guess that Zheng Shilin's courage came from Zhang Xuan's "encouragement".

Li Qi led dozens of eunuchs and palace guards through Zhuque Street in a grand manner, and went directly to Zheng Shilin's mansion.

Zheng Shilin was shocked when he heard that Li Qi was visiting.Although he knew that Zhang Xuan would not ignore him, Li Qi was still a little uneasy when he came to the door to inquire about the crime - what if Zhang Xuan refused to offend King Sheng?What about the Zheng family?
Thinking of this, Zheng Shilin felt that he seemed a little too impulsive, but it was too late to regret.

Zheng Shilin ordered his servants to leave the back door and report to Zhang Jiuming's mansion, and hurriedly greeted him out of the mansion.

"Your Majesty didn't know that His Royal Highness Sheng was coming, so I was far away to welcome you. Please forgive me!" Zheng Shilin paid homage.Even with the backing of Zhang Xuan, the King of Yongning, Zheng Shilin, as a mid-level and lower-level civil servant, still lacks the confidence to face Li Qi.

Li Qi smiled coldly, and said indifferently, "Zheng Hanlin doesn't need to be too polite, this king came in a hurry--this king heard that Zheng Hanlin's son Zheng Jie and Mrs. Zhang's lady Zhang Xuemei have a good relationship today, so I am here to congratulate you!"

Li Qi said that he came to congratulate him, but his voice was so cold that there was no trace of congratulations.

Zheng Shilin felt uneasy when he heard it, and didn't know what to say, so he smiled awkwardly and welcomed Li Qi all the way to the living room of the mansion.I was afraid that Li Qi would catch him and cause trouble for the Zheng family.

Li Qi silently looked at Zheng Shilin without saying a word, seeing that Zheng Shilin's heart was in his throat, his face was red, his ears were red, his hands were red, and he was at a loss for what to do.

In fact, it's no wonder that he is just an ordinary middle- and lower-level civil servant, and the Hanlin scholar is good-looking in name but actually has no power. Facing Li Qi, the current emperor's son-in-law, how can he not be afraid of three points?
"Zheng Hanlin, call your son out and let me meet him. I want to see what a hero he is, and he is worthy of Miss Xuemei."

Li Qi waved his hand.

Zheng Shilin's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, my son..."

Before Zheng Shilin could say a few words, a young man walked in from outside the hall, it was Zheng Jie.

(End of this chapter)