The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 223 Volume : Happy and Proud
"Send some officials to the homes of the top ten scholars to spread the good news."

"Each family should send ten gold cakes, and then pick up a rare treasure from the treasury. Those things will just gather dust in the treasury anyway, so it's better to send them to the scholars' homes so that they can show off."

Rare and precious treasures are also the people’s hard-earned money.

If they were all piled up in the treasury, it would be as if their very birth was a sin.

But if they were sent to the homes of scholars, it would undoubtedly be a free advertisement for the imperial examination.

"There is a golden house in the book."

However, Liu Xie pulled out Sima Yi's test paper and said, "I personally went to the home of this new champion. I saw him in the examination room last time, but I didn't have a detailed conversation with him."

As for the gift for Sima Yi, it was also selected by Liu Xie himself.

Green feather fire copper red bird top ornament.

The bronze bird is golden all over, and the cast Vermilion Bird is lifelike, as if it is about to flap its wings and fly high at any time.

Behind it, there is a phoenix feather embellished with precious emeralds, which is luxurious yet a bit showy...

The next day.

The names of more than one hundred scholars have been listed on the golden list and displayed on one side of Baqiao.

“There are more than a hundred people!”

At first, the people thought that there were only about a hundred people who were appointed to official positions.

But even so, it is exciting enough.

After all, when had the Han Dynasty ever seen such a grand occasion?

The poor people finally have a way to get promoted!

When the people learned that there were not just a hundred or so scholars who were appointed to official positions, but more than 1,300 people, they fell into a strange silence for a while.

But after the silence, there was an even more intense outburst of emotions!

More than 1,300 people!

Countless children from poor families couldn't help but cover their faces and cry.

In the past, these people would have never been able to embark on a career in politics.

Even if the resources of those great scholars from aristocratic families slip through their fingers, they will never fall into their hands.

But today, just by passing an exam, all those hardships were replaced and he became an official... Such a huge gap really makes these children from poor families feel like they have changed their world!

For a time, the shops in Chang'an were packed!
Smart merchants even hung banners and erected flags in the shops, and stood in front of the doors to pay respect to the high school students, bringing the atmosphere to a climax!

At this time, officials came out of the Shangshu Terrace one after another, beating gongs and drums along the way, attracting countless Chang'an people to watch behind them.

The team walked all the way to the outside of the city, knocked on the door of a slightly dilapidated house, and sang loudly:

"Tianshui native Yang Qiu ranks tenth!"

A simple man walked out of the door, staring blankly at the team in front of him, a little flustered.

The clerk from the Secretariat didn't waste any time and directly opened the gift, revealing ten gold cakes and a rare royal treasure directly in front of everyone.

"call!"

The people watching around were all staring with amazement!

Not to mention the royal treasure, the ten gold cakes alone are enough to ensure that the family of five will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives!
A scholar who ranked eleventh in the exam cried out "Ouch" and began stamping his feet in anger.

Just one person missing!

Maybe it was just one point away! But I missed this opportunity, which is really frustrating.

The officials of the Shangshutai comforted them, saying, "The first hundred scholars were able to enter the Weiyang Palace for a banquet, meet the emperor, and receive titles and rewards. There is no need to be overly upset."

The scholar who ranked eleventh in the exam finally calmed down.

Being able to attend a banquet in the Weiyang Palace and even meet the emperor is enough to make one die without regrets.

But he was still upset.

The top ten are really too grand!

The Shangshutai came in person to congratulate and give gifts. How great it would be to show off in front of my parents and relatives! !
If I had known that the top ten would be treated like this, I would have been even more careful when answering the questions!

The official from the Secretariat put the gift down to Yang Qiu, and then rushed to the homes of the ninth and eighth place winners.

After Yang Xiu learned the news, he ordered people to open the door of the Taiwei Mansion as soon as possible.

Although Yang Biao said that it was not easy for Yang Xiu to be so ostentatious, he also changed into new clothes, quietly hid behind the door, and waited for news from outside.

After delivering the gift to the third place winner, Su Ze, a huge team also headed towards the Taiwei Mansion.

When Yang Xiu saw so many people, he was so excited that his tail was raised to the sky!

“I really am number one!”

When the official arrived at the door, Yang Xiu did not wait for him to chant his name, but directly ordered the servants in his mansion to give gifts to the official of the Secretariat.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

Yang Xiu waved his hand again and promised the people in the rear: "There will also be gifts for the people who come here today!"

Then, just in case, Yang Xiu even stopped the official from the Shangshutai and asked, "Is this the last one?"

"This is indeed the last one in Taiwei Mansion, but..."

"Hahahahaha!"

Yang Xiu laughed continuously: "Reward! Reward all! I, Yang Xiu, have indeed won the first place in the imperial examination!"

A group of servants rushed out of the Taiwei Mansion and distributed copper coins to the people. The people who received the copper coins were also tactful and shouted outside: "Congratulations to the top scholar!"

The sound spread throughout the surrounding streets and alleys, and everyone stuck their heads out and looked at the Taiwei Mansion in surprise.

"The son of the Grand Commandant is indeed the best."

"Tsk! The first place is actually the son of the Grand Commandant. I don't believe that there is no inside story!"

"That's not the case. Yang Xiu is indeed quite famous."

"..."

The officials of the Shangshutai saw that the misunderstanding was getting deeper and deeper, and they no longer cared about etiquette and directly ordered their subordinates to disperse the servants of the Taiwei Mansion.

"Wrong! Wrong! Young Master Yang is not the top scholar!"

Not the top scholar? Yang Xiu's face turned pale: "What did you say? I am not the top scholar?"

"No."

"Didn't you say I was the last one?"

"It's the last one! But that's because the emperor is going to visit the number one scholar's home in person!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiu's face immediately became as gloomy as a melon.

"impossible!"

"How could I not be the top scorer!"

"There must be something shady going on here!!"

……

But when everyone found out that the number one scholar was not Yang Xiu... somehow, they felt a little happy.

After all, Yang Xiu was the son of the Grand Marshal and had a very noble status.

After all, the imperial examination system is a system designed to help children from poor families succeed.

If Yang Xiu had taken the top spot, although no one would say anything, they would all suspect that the court was biased in the imperial examination and favored the scholars from the families of officials.

But now that he saw that Yang Xiu was not even the top scorer, this thought immediately disappeared.

After all, among all the scholars, whose status could be higher than that of the only son of the Grand Marshal?

Even Yang Xiu was not the top scorer. Doesn’t this just prove the fairness of the imperial examination system?
All of a sudden, everyone started asking around, wanting to know who was the number one scholar in the first imperial examination of the Han Dynasty.

……

Sima Mansion.

Sima Yi did not fall into the same frenzy as the scholars outside.

He is waiting.

Although Sima Yi modestly claimed that he might not have passed the exam.

But in fact, Sima Yi always believed that he would be among the top ten, and was waiting for officials from the Secretariat to visit him.

But the longer you wait, the more wrong it feels.

As the sun sets, today's carnival is about to come to an end, but no officials come to the door. Sima Yi's heart finally grows cold.

"Zhongda."

Sima Fang also knew that Sima Yi was still arrogant, so he wanted to comfort him.

"Don't worry, father. The child is fine."

Sima Yi bit his lips tightly, but still bowed respectfully to Sima Fang.

"It's just that I've been a little tired lately, so I'll go and rest first."

Sima Fang looked at Sima Yi's back and sighed softly.

"Dang Dang Dang!"

At this moment! The door of the mansion suddenly rang!
Sima Yi, who was about to leave on the pretext of something, suddenly stopped, looked towards the gate with hope, and wished he could run up to greet them.

This scene naturally caught Sima Fang's eyes.

Sima Fang smiled and said, "My son, go to the back and tidy yourself up first, don't lose your manners."

"it is good!"

Sima Yi looked fine, but his back was actually wet. He quickly walked to the back of the hall and changed into a new set of clothes.

Sima Fang walked quickly to the gate of his mansion with a cane, took a deep breath, and opened the door himself!
Ok?
Sima Fang was a little disappointed.

Because the person standing in front of him was not an official from the Shangshu Mansion.

But he is a handsome young man.

The person who came was Liu Xie.

When Liu Xie saw that the person who opened the door was not Sima Yi, he also bowed and said, "Hello, uncle. I am a friend of Zhongda. I came here today to look for him. I wonder if he is in your house?"

"Here I am."

Although Sima Fang was a little disappointed, when he heard that it was Sima Yi's friend, he still softened his expression and welcomed Liu Xie into the house.

Liu Xie apologized as he entered the door: "It was mainly because there were too many people on the road today, and several shortcuts were blocked. I had no choice but to take a longer route, which is why I was a little late."

"Plus, when I was passing by the West Market, I smelled the aroma of meat, so I went to buy some roast chicken to give to Zhongda... Where is Zhongda? Why can't I see him?"

Sima Fang had no suspicion of any other intention.

"Today is the day when the results of the imperial examination are announced. The streets are naturally crowded with people."

Sima Fang asked tentatively: "I wonder if my nephew has participated in the imperial examination?"

"Involved!"

Liu Xie smiled bitterly and said, "It's a pity that I'm not on the list after all, alas!"

After hearing this, Sima Fang looked at Liu Xie with even more appreciation.

Liu Xie himself did not pass the high school entrance exam, but he was the first to visit Sima Yi who also did not pass the exam... What a firm friendship!

"I think my nephew has an extraordinary temperament. He will pass the imperial examination sooner or later. There is no need to be discouraged."

"Ha! Then thank you for your kind words, uncle!"

At this time, Sima Yi also changed his clothes and walked out from the back hall.

However, the silence in the yard soon made Sima Yi realize that something was wrong.

If officials from the Secretariat came here, there would have been firecrackers and loud gongs and drums. How could it be so quiet?
With confusion, Sima Yi turned to the front of the hall and saw Liu Xie who was having a pleasant conversation with his father.

The pupils shrank!
Even with Sima Yi's temperament, he couldn't help but jump up and pointed at Liu Xie in horror, "You! How did you even chase me home!"

"Hey? Brother Zhongda?"

Liu Xie shook the chicken drumstick in his hand and greeted Sima Yi with a smile: "Long time no see, I missed you so much!"

(End of this chapter)