Prime Minister

Chapter 1071: Complete the king's affairs and win fame in life and after death

Chapter 1071: Complete the king's affairs and win fame in life and after death

The Jiying Hall gathers together the best talents.

The government also relaxed the admission requirements for this subject, allowing those who had failed in several subjects, or those who had failed due to old age, to take part in the palace examination.

Therefore, there were as many as six or seven hundred people taking the palace examination this time, which can be considered a grand event.

The emperor also issued an edict to increase the number of students in the Imperial College to eighty, with thirty students in each room. The tuition was all paid by the court. The Imperial College was extremely prosperous at that time.

Scholars from all over the world praised the emperor for his wisdom.

The emperor's intention was also very clear. After the Xining reign of Wang Anshi and Han Jiang, he changed the reign title to Yuanfeng and used a new look to show the emperor's determination to forge ahead after Yuanfeng. Finally, he used military force against the Xia Kingdom in one fell swoop, thus establishing the throne!

On March 21st of the second year of Yuanfeng, the emperor was in Jiying Hall and personally reviewed the wise men of the world!

The emperor walked down the hall with steady steps, looked at all the students, took them all in, then opened a sealed essay from the imperial desk and displayed it to the students.

The title is [In ancient times, the abundance of human talent was never greater than during the Tang and Yu dynasties. If Sikong was appointed, the water and soil would be level; if Ji was appointed, all kinds of grains would grow… The world always has more things to do, but talent is always insufficient. If insufficient talent is used to handle more things, then who can compare with the wise and virtuous rulers who succeeded in their work? Even though their talent is not as complete as that of the Tang, Yu, and Chengzhou dynasties…]

The topic is to seek talents, and my heart is also to seek talents. There are more things in the world, but not enough talents. What is talent...

The eunuchs at the side were whispering to the emperor, so the emperor stopped beside Chen Guan, Chao Buzhi and Li Kui when he passed by.

To establish many princes and weaken their power was the strategy proposed by Zhang Yue.

The emperor used it to reform the Military Equipment Bureau. After pacifying Qingtang, he conferred titles on all the kings, making them equal to Dong Jian.

Now the same is true for the talents recommended by Zhang Yue, such as Shen Kuo, Xu Xi, and Cai Jing, who are all considered useful by the emperor.

Today, Zhang Yue offers three talents again.

They are Chen Guan, Chao Buzhi and Li Kui, all of whom are highly valued by the government. Those who are favored by Zhang Yue are all extraordinary talents. It seems that they are better than Wang Anshi in cultivating talents.

Therefore, the government used the method of "establishing many vassal states to reduce their power" to continue to undermine Zhang Yue's power.

The emperor was particularly pleased with Chen Guan. He had read the newly revised Mencius's Commentary, which was co-authored by Su Che and Chen Guan. He admired Mencius's Commentary very much and often read it.

The government admires Mencius's ideas of benefiting the people, and may talk about them, but will not put them into practice.

After the Yuanfeng era was changed, the government still used the "Shen Han technique" to focus on one thing, which was the emperor's magic.

This did not prevent him from admiring Chen Guan.

It's just that the talents in the wild are different from the talents after the palace examination. It is impossible for the emperor to seek talents from the people. Even ordinary officials in the court cannot be "personally selected" without a reasonable reason.

Only after passing the palace examination can talents officially enter the emperor's eyes.

A capable ruler attaches great importance to his power and does not delegate the power of employing people to the prime minister.

After reading Chen Guan's article, the official came to Zhang Gen's desk.

The Legalists believed most that the emperor's will should not be known to his subordinates, and officials followed Zhang Gen's writing style.

Unlike other scholars who were aware of his actions in detail and reacted in advance, he was not aware of his arrival at all.

The emperor walked up to Zhang Gen and stopped beside him. The three ministers Wang Gui, Yuan Jiang and Feng Jing also stopped behind him.

Seeing the official stop, the three of them glanced at the names on the table and suddenly understood, then paid attention to the emperor's expression.

There was a rumor that Zhang Yue took a nap in the palace during the palace examination, and was seen by Emperor Renzong. Emperor Renzong did not take it as an offense at all, and even covered Zhang Yue with clothes, fearing that he would catch a cold.

This scene is just like in later generations, when someone falls asleep in the college entrance examination examination room, and the examiner cannot bear to wake him up, but considerately covers the candidate with a blanket.

Although it is a folk joke.

But everyone knows that Zhang Yue had the habit of "working on a draft in his mind" like Bai Juyi when he was young. He would not write an article at the beginning, but would go back to bed and take a nap before a great article was born.

Is Zhang Weng's attitude the same as Zhang Yue's? Are there differences between the monarch and his ministers in their understanding of the idea of ​​seeking talents?

Everyone stared at the official's expression.

But in the eyes of officials, his writing is like the ocean and his writing is like a dragon.

……

Roll call of the day!

Your Highness and the scholars all held their breath.

Previously, the Ministry of Rites was in charge of the imperial examination and would read out the list of candidates.

"The first place in the first class of the imperial examination in the second year of Yuanfeng..."

“…Kaifengfu Shiyan!”

All the scholars in his palace cast their eyes on a man of plain appearance.

"The second place in the first class of Jinshi in the second year of Yuanfeng..."

"...Chen Guan from Nanjian Prefecture!"

Chen Guan thought to himself that the monk's words really came true. He would never get the top spot, but being the second place was not bad either.

"The third place in the first class of Jinshi in the second year of Yuanfeng..."

"...Jianzhou Zhang Gen!"

Chen Guan, who was going to the palace to report his hometown and name, couldn't help but glance at Zhang Gen.

But Zhang Gen followed calmly. He looked at the imperial guards on both sides of the corridor who were holding golden bones and looking straight ahead. A white jade staircase led straight to the main hall like a road to the sky.

Who hasn’t dreamed of living in a small room while looking up to the sky when studying?

Zhang Gen thought to himself, when his father was ranked first in the imperial examination, he had also come here and walked all the way here.

No wonder daddy once said, "In the morning I am a farmer, and in the evening I am an emperor." I wonder if daddy felt the same as I did back then.

……

The two runners-up, one was Zhang Yue's disciple, and the other was Zhang Yue's son. The ministers in the hall were secretly amazed.

But he couldn't say anything. Although Zhang Yue was the prime minister, he couldn't participate in the examination. He had been staying at home for half a year, claiming illness.

Then the two runners-up are the ones that the emperor has chosen. After all, the number one is not given randomly, it belongs to a real "poor family".

The musicians on both sides of the hall struck chimes, which sounded like dragons leaping and tigers leaping, making people's hearts beat with joy. The scholars who walked up the white marble steps seemed to have completed the journey like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

The path of life has changed since then, completely different from the past.

Chen Guan slowed down his pace and arrived at the hall almost at the same time as Zhang Gen.

Countless bowl lanterns on the ceiling of the main hall gathered like a sea, and the small flames on the wicks danced happily, as if the waves were gently rolling over thousands of miles.

The musicians struck the bells and drums, and the majestic drum sounds spread across the vast land.

Under the sea of ​​​​dazzling lights, the emperor sat high in the Mingtang, and the officials in purple and red robes watched as the top ten Jinshi candidates entered the hall one by one.

Zhang Gen once again realized what it meant to be "a farmer in the morning and the emperor's palace in the evening". While the other Jinshi scholars only dared to stare at the ground, he dared to boldly look up at the emperor in the palace.

In fact, in the past, on the 17th day of the first lunar month, Niang would bring Zhang Gen and Zhang Cheng to the imperial city to attend the banquet hosted by the two Empress Dowagers and had met the Emperor.

During the Lantern Festival, people watched the lanterns and saw the face of the emperor from afar.

Zhang Gen now understood that his parents' vision, knowledge, and status helped him to smooth over many obstacles and avoid many detours.

He had seen many poor scholars living cautiously and compromisingly, for fear that they would be envied by others if they showed a little bit of their talent or told the truth.

He also wondered why his father was so cautious and did things without seeking to achieve anything but to avoid making mistakes.

Now he understood that his father had never had his own conditions. Many children from poor families would have been trampled down like roadside weeds or had their spines broken if they had just nodded a little proudly or said a few words that were a little too much on the road to growth.

It was only after he left home that he realized the wickedness of human nature and the difficulties of the world.

……

The top three Jinshi were given answers.

At that time, Chen Guan spoke freely in front of the emperor.

When it was Zhang Gen's turn, unlike Shi Yan and Chen Guan, the emperor asked with a smile on his face, "Who is the second place winner from?"

Zhang Gen knew exactly what his father had asked in front of the emperor, and he said, "Your Majesty, my ancestor was a descendant of Duke Tai of Qi and was granted the title of Zhang. He left the city and became the Zhang family... My grandfather's name was Liang, and he was not ambitious. He followed the requests of his in-laws... Poetry and literature were passed down in our family, and we died with a natural honor."

"My father, Zhang Yue, was the first person to pass the imperial examination in the sixth year of Jiayou. He was appointed as the judge of Chuzhou. Later, he was selected as the third-class judge and appointed as the storyteller in Chongzheng Hall... He is now the Grand Secretary of Zizheng Hall, the founding duke of Jian'an County, and the Minister of Rites!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor smiled and said to Wang Gui and Feng Jing, "So the runner-up is the son of Zhang Canzheng!"

All the ministers acted as if they had just understood it, nodded frequently and praised it unanimously.

Wang Gui came forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think the essay of the runner-up is no less than that of his father! It is true that a tiger father will have a dog son."

Wang Gui was Zhang Yue's sponsor in the Ministry of Rites, so he was absolutely qualified to say this.

Feng Jing then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the country is full of talented people, just like the image of King Wen of Zhou emerging from the river. The Zhang family of Pucheng has been loyal and good for generations, with 25 Jinshi scholars serving in the court, including Duke Xun and Duke Jian'an, who are good ministers assisting the country! Now we have another scholar to contribute to the country."

Wang Gui, Feng Jing and Zhang Yue have worked together for many years, so it is inevitable that there are some grudges between them, but at this time they are all saying good things.

The emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this. He then looked at Zhang Dun, who was the Imperial Academy scholar, and Zhang Qi, who signed the Privy Council.

The emperor asked with a smile, "Second place, what do you think of the teachings of Lord Jian'an?"

Zhang Gen said: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Jian'an has enriched his family with Confucianism. When he comes home, he asks about his academic progress, and when he goes out, he checks on his friends' gains and losses. The Duke often tells the common people that wealth and honor are bestowed by heaven, but people should be diligent and frugal and not extravagant..."

After a pause, Zhang Gen said, "I have often seen the Duke of Jian'an getting up in the middle of the night and talking to himself, 'I will finish the affairs of the king and the world, and win a good reputation in my lifetime and after my death!'"

"What a great way to complete the king's affairs and win fame in life and after death!"

The emperor was overjoyed to hear Zhang Yue's words. No matter what Zhang Yue was like, he still had me in his heart and my important affairs in his heart.

When Wang Gui and his ministers heard Zhang Yue's words, they also thought it was a good idea.

Even better was that Zhang Gen said it just right in the palace. This was ten times better than what Zhang Yue said himself.

The father is terrible, and the son is also terrible.

The emperor said: "Zhang Qing has a strong character and extensive knowledge. He is a prime minister. He persists in doing things that are impossible. This is what I admire."

"Humanity says that loyal ministers and good ministers must come from the family of loyalty and filial piety, just like this."

Zhang Gen was overjoyed and said, "Your Majesty's golden words, I will remember them."

All officials felt that the emperor intended to re-employ Zhang Yue. The emperor and his ministers had never fallen out with each other. Those who had gloated over the emperor's misfortune before, wait and see how Prime Minister Zhang will deal with you when he comes out again.

The top scorer asks three questions, and the second place scorer asks two questions.

He will be given the opportunity to make comments in the Golden Palace, and his name as the emperor's disciple and the pride of heaven will be known throughout the world.

The emperor was overjoyed and said, "I have found a scholar today. I will issue an order to grant tens of millions of dollars to the new scholar!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the palace and outside the palace shouted "Long live the emperor!"

(End of this chapter)