I, Kangxi, am here to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!

Time is like that thing, if you squeeze it out, it will always pass.

Before we knew it, it was the sixth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.

The Spring Festival had just passed that year, and a restless atmosphere permeated the air in Beijing.

It wasn't because spring had arrived, but because a large group of scholars from various provinces had come to the capital to take the imperial examinations.

The "Spring Examination" was scheduled for the ninth day of the second lunar month.

This is a gamble that will determine your fate.

If you win, you'll receive a gold belt and a purple official robe, bringing glory to your ancestors.

If you lose, go cool off somewhere else and come back in three years as a reheated pork dish.

These scholars practically risked their lives for this exam, heading to the capital well in advance.

For candidates from Zhili (present-day Hebei Province), it was easier; it was right under the emperor's nose. They could ride in a carriage, humming a tune, and even take a trip if they arrived two months in advance.

Those from Shandong and Shanxi weren't in such dire straits either; they set off three months in advance, and at most wore out a few pairs of shoes on the way.

When you get to places like Jiangnan and Huguang, you have to set off four months in advance, traveling by water and then by land. If you get seasick or carsick, you'll vomit up all your bile.

Those in remote areas are the worst off.

The Yunnan and Guizhou regions are more than 5,600 miles away from Beijing!

In those days, there were no high-speed trains or airplanes; people relied entirely on their own two legs and the "green transportation" of that era—horses or donkeys. Normally, it would take half a year to walk there. If they encountered a flash flood, bandits blocking the road, or suffered from diarrhea due to the change in environment, it was uncertain whether they could survive to reach Beijing.

Some candidates even set off a year and a half in advance!

They traveled a long and dusty journey, and when they arrived in the capital, they were all emaciated and looked no different from refugees fleeing famine.

Even so, inns in Beijing were still fully booked.

Any guild hall with even a little reputation had long been booked up by powerful families or wealthy scholars.

The remaining students from impoverished families could only squeeze into a dilapidated dormitory room, smelling each other's stinky feet, and still had to study late into the night.

This is the imperial examination system.

This is a single-plank bridge, and also the only upward mobility channel in this era.

……

February 8th.

There's one day left until the exam.

After finishing dealing with a pile of daunting memorials, Hong Xiguan stretched and listened to the faint noise coming from outside the palace walls, his mind starting to wander.

"Liang Jiugong, change me into some civilian clothes."

"Master, what are you doing...?"

"Let's go for a stroll." Hong Xiguan stood up, looking very interested. "I've heard that the capital is full of talented people now. I want to go and see what these future pillars of the nation look like."

Of course, he didn't have that kind of childish idea of ​​"going incognito to take the exam."

In his past life, he watched the TV series "Kangxi Dynasty". In the series, Emperor Kangxi used the pseudonym "Long'er" to show off in the examination hall, which made him feel extremely embarrassed.

Are you kidding me?

Is the imperial examination even passable by humans?

They were to be locked in that tiny cubicle called the "cell" for three days and two nights! They had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves inside! The stench was enough to make anyone faint!

Why would the emperor leave his perfectly good imperial bed to smell excrement there? Was he out of his mind?

Besides, the exam questions were all set by the emperor.

The examiners sent the questions to the emperor for review seven or eight days before the exam. This is like going to the exam with the standard answers and getting a perfect score—what's there to brag about? That's cheating!

"I'm just going to watch the excitement and see what the capital of the Great Qing Dynasty is really like."

Hong Xiguan stroked his chin and said.

……

Dressed in the brocade robes of a wealthy young master, and carrying a folding fan (though it was still a bit cold, this was a must-have for showing off), Hong Xiguan, along with Tong Guowei, Li Xu, and a dozen or so disguised imperial guards, quietly slipped out of the palace.

Upon exiting the Meridian Gate, Hong Xiguan was extremely excited.

This is like a canary that has been locked in a cage finally flying into the blue sky.

"During the Ming Dynasty, I heard that Chessboard Street was the most prosperous place."

As Hong Xiguan walked, he explained to Li Xu and the others beside him, "In front of the Daming Gate and behind the Ministry of Revenue Street, there are shops lining the streets and crowds of people. You can find all kinds of rare treasures and local delicacies from all over the country here. Especially during the year of the imperial examination, it's a lively place where talented men and beautiful women compose poems and exchange verses!"

He imagined the scenes recorded in historical materials, and his steps became lighter.

however.

When Hong Xiguan finally stood in front of the Daming Gate (Daqing Gate) and looked at the wide chessboard-like street and the buildings on both sides, he was completely stunned.

The wind swirled the fallen leaves and dust, blowing past my feet.

The wide Qipan Street was deserted, with hardly a soul in sight.

There aren't even any shops, let alone a single stall selling jianbing guozi!

The shops on both sides were closed, some even with their signs removed, looking desolate as if they had been closed for many years.

Occasionally a few people would pass by, but they would hurry along, heads down, walking close to the wall, barely daring to breathe.

"This...this is Chessboard Street?"

Hong Xiguan pointed at the lifeless street before him, looking at Tong Guowei in disbelief: "I...haven't taken the wrong road, have I? This is the capital? This is the most prosperous place in the whole world?"

This isn't even as lively as the third-rate county town he lived in his previous life!

What happened to the promised bustling world? What happened to the promised prosperity and splendor?

Just then, a series of neat and muffled footsteps suddenly came from afar, accompanied by the clanging sound of armor plates colliding.

Hong Xiguan looked up.

A group of fully armed Manchu soldiers, riding tall horses and carrying long spears, patrolled the street with expressionless faces.

The cold gaze swept over them, frightening the pedestrians on the roadside so much that they immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

Immediately afterwards, from the direction of the training ground not far away, came a series of deafening bugle calls and shouts of battle.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Those were the Eight Banners soldiers training.

"Horse stance and arrows! Swords and spears! Mounted archery!"

The instructor's hoarse shouts in Manchu echoed through the empty streets, carrying a chilling and menacing aura.

This place doesn't look like a country's capital; it looks more like... a frontline military camp.

"What happened?"

Hong Xiguan's smile vanished, replaced by deep confusion: "Where are the common people? Where are the merchants? And where are the thousands of scholars who went to the capital for the imperial examinations? Where have they all gone?"

"Why is there nobody on the streets except for soldiers?"

Seeing the Emperor's displeasure, Tong Guowei quickly stepped forward, his face plastered with his signature obsequious smile, and bowed as he explained, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? This is the inner city!"

"The inner city?" Hong Xiguan frowned.

"Yes, the city of Beijing is divided into the inner city and the outer city."

Tong Guowei pointed around with an air of matter-of-fact: "What we're standing on right now is the inner city, now also called the Full City!"

"When our Great Qing entered the pass and established its capital in Beijing, in order to protect the royal family and also to prevent... cough cough, to prevent the Han people from causing trouble, Regent Dorgon issued an edict that all the Han people in the inner city, whether they were officials, merchants or ordinary people, should pack up and leave, and vacate this best-located area to settle our princes, nobles and Eight Banners warriors."

"Those who live in this inner city now are the sons and daughters of our Eight Banners, the families of the Emperor's personal guards!"

Tong Guowei said with considerable pride, "Of course, there are no shady vendors or idlers here. This is Manchu territory, and its main selling point is peace and safety!"