Your Majesty, please resign again

Chapter 93 The great era begins! (Ha, five thousand chapters!)

Zhang Heng went home and squinted for a while. He was very tired from running back and forth today, and he encountered another disaster at the polo field. If he was just a young lady, then today's enemies would have been formed.

Although this sleep was short, I slept so deeply that when I was woken up by Zhang Jun, I was still a little dazed. I looked at the dark sky outside and felt as if I had lived another world for a while.

At Zhang Xun's urging, Zhang Heng got up, took a bath with cold water, changed his clothes, and headed towards Fan Tower in the cool summer breeze.

Zhang Heng leaned on the donkey cart, feeling the cool breeze blowing on his face, and finally woke up a little.

Zhang Zhangshu looked a little excited. The two brothers chatted and recalled what happened when they were in Pucheng. Zhang Heng felt as if he was in another world. In fact, it was only more than a year ago.

Zhang Heng looked at the bustling city and smiled.

Zhang Heng listened to the chat between the two brothers Zhang Shu and Zhang Jin. They were very satisfied with their current life. They had enough to eat, books to read, a house to live in, three courtyards, and a big business. I soon had an income, and before I knew it, my life situation was completely different.

This kind of emotion will only occur when you are about to meet fellow villagers, because when you see fellow villagers, your understanding of your identity will return to the original position when you just came out of the village. Therefore, at this time, only things outside you can Remind them that whether they have made progress over the years will determine whether they have confidence in front of their fellow villagers.

This is also the feeling shared by many deep drifters, northern drifters, and upper drifters in later generations.

No matter what they do in first-tier cities, if they have no money in their pockets, no houses in the city, and old houses in the village, then when they meet fellow villagers, they will have a temporary sense of superiority, but then they will There are many anxieties - although the fellow villagers are rustic, they will not be as miserable as they are wandering in other places.

Speaking of the house, Zhang Heng suddenly remembered that he had not seen the house allocated to him by Kaifeng Mansion. He quickly asked: "Brother, have you seen the house allocated to him by Kaifeng Mansion?"

Zhang Jun laughed and said: "I've seen it, I've seen it. That house is really nice. It's much bigger than the house we live in now. Good guy, the third courtyard is still located on Xijiaolou Street. In the future, if Third Brother becomes an official in Beijing, he will live in this courtyard and spend a lot less time going to court."

Zhang Shu continued: "I heard that this house was bought by the rats from Wuyou Cave. My dear, these people have done so many unscrupulous things to buy such a good yard. In the end, it was cheap. us."

Zhang Heng just smiled and did not tell them about the ugliness he had seen in Wuyou Cave. If he did tell them, the two brothers would not be able to sleep.

He just said: "I'll go take a look when I have time."

Zhang Shu cheered and said, "What are you looking at? I've already asked my eldest brother to rent it out. How can I let my eldest brother keep the house for nothing? Isn't it serious to rent it out to earn some money and save it?"

Zhang Heng was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

But I also feel that it should be like this. The eldest brother Zhang Jun is the man who lives the best life in the world. In his hands, not a piece of straw paper will be wasted, let alone a house with three entrances.

Fanlou is very lively in the summer. It has just fallen into the night and already life is bustling.

Shopkeeper Tong had been waiting at the door early. When he saw the little donkey cart of the Zhang brothers, he immediately came forward with a smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, please come to our store. Our store is so radiant. Please come in quickly. The private room has been prepared for you."

Zhang and Zhangshu both smiled at each other, and Zhang Heng laughed out loud and said, "How are you, shopkeeper Tong?"

Shopkeeper Tong smiled heartily and said: "Okay, Sanlang'an is fine, hahaha."

Shopkeeper Tong was extremely enthusiastic, which made Zhang Heng feel a little weird.

After entering the private room, it wasn't long before Zhang La came, bringing with him several fellow villagers.

Zhang Lao is a very enthusiastic person. He does not have the arrogance of a direct descendant of the Zhang family from his hometown. He always calls him brother. In fact, he is older than the three Zhang Heng brothers.

Several fellow villagers were also enthusiastic people, and they were particularly enthusiastic when they met each other. As soon as Zhang Lao introduced them, he actually had an acquaintance, one named Chen Xiang and the other named Su Song.

I have never met Su Song Zhangheng, but his name is very familiar to my ears. It is not because he is well known to future generations, but because I have heard in recent times that Su Song from Fujian is amazingly talented and has the ability to aspire to be the leader of three families.

As for Chen Xiang, Zhang Heng felt quite close to him when he met him, because this Chen Xiang was Zhang Heng's former mentor.

According to the original historical trajectory, Chen Xiang was awarded the Jinshi in the second year of Qingli, and then returned to Pucheng County as the chief registrar and acting county magistrate. He built a school with 300 couplets, gave lectures in person, and sought hundreds of scholars, among whom there was Zhang. balance.

It can be said that Chen Xiang also contributed to Zhang Heng's success in the examination.

Because of this kind of cause and effect, Zhang Heng's enthusiasm is more sincere, which makes Zhang and others feel like spring breeze.

They originally thought that Zhang Heng might be arrogant because he became famous at a young age, but they didn't expect that he was so easy to get along with, and the guests and hosts had a great time that night.

Later, shopkeeper Tong and Chang Li came and toasted to all the scholars, giving them enough respect.

There were no other surprises in this night's party. Zhang and the others did not provoke, and no one else came in to challenge them without hesitation. In fact, this is the norm. There are no novels where someone will look for trouble once you go to a restaurant to drink. It is obviously The host and guest have to be stupid and picky about the guests who entertain them. In reality, they are still very few.

For this night's consumption, Zhang Heng had no intention of paying the bill. When he went to the counter, shopkeeper Tong said that the owner had told him not to charge money, so Zhang Heng gave up.

Because he got drunk too late, Zhang Heng did not return to Zeng Mansion and went back to Taixue.

The next day, the three brothers got up early again to grab Taixue steamed buns.

After Zhang Heng finished eating the Taixue steamed buns, he wandered back to Zeng Mansion, and then he studied day after day.

When the sun breaks early in the summer, Zhang Heng will get up at five or six o'clock every day, and by the way, he will dig Zeng Xiaozong, Zeng Xiaokuan, and Zeng Xiaochun out of bed - hum, I want to read early, so don't rest either.

Zeng Xiaozong was self-conscious. Although Zeng Xiaokuan was resentful, he also knew what was good. Zeng Xiaochun would lose his temper every time, but after being slapped by Zeng Xiaozong, his anger turned into the sound of reading loudly and spread throughout the Zeng Mansion, disturbing the whole family. The entire Zeng Mansion was in a state of restlessness.

However, no one would object to this kind of noise, not even Mrs. Zeng, who takes beauty sleep every day, would not criticize it harshly.

Children love to read, which is something every parent would like to see.

Zeng Gongliang didn't care. Anyway, he got up much earlier than Zhang Heng and others. Every morning, he had to go to court in the dark. By the time Zhang Heng and others got up, he was probably already drinking tea with the officials.

Chatted.

After reading in the morning, it’s time for a hearty breakfast.

Zeng Gongliang was greedy for money, but he was not stingy with his family. He was willing to spend money on food, drink and clothing.

After breakfast, it was time to do the usual things like memorizing calligraphy and writing policy essays. Zhang Heng could bear to think about it. Although his memory was outstanding, he would not slack off in reading, especially history books and policy essays.

He firmly believes in the saying that reading thousands of volumes and writing is like a god. Reading is input and writing is output. If there is no input and only output, there will be no goods soon.

At noon, it was another sumptuous lunch. After lunch, he had to take a nap for half an hour, and then he got up to answer a lot of questions. These days, the pile of questions he had to answer was as tall as a person, and he must be as tall as Zhang Jun.

of.

Zhang Heng felt that he didn't have as much time to study as others, so he made up for it by brushing up on questions. Brushing on questions was really a time-honored truth. After a long period of studying on questions, he was basically familiar with all types of questions.

, it is rare to see more new things.

After completing the questions to this point, there is basically no problem, and the rest is a matter of improvisation.

And as autumn approaches, the Kaifeng Mansion Examination has also arrived.

Kaifeng Prefecture opened the tribute courtyard, dusted it, and prepared to receive thousands of scholars, and Bianjing City was also crowded with scholars from all over the country.

Yes, that's right, scholars from all over the world.

The Imperial Examination of the Song Dynasty was inherited from the Tang Dynasty. The imperial examination was divided into two levels, namely the Fajie Examination of local prefectures and counties and the Provincial Examination of the Ministry of Rites of the Central Shangshu Province. As for the number one scholar in the exam that everyone calls, it is actually the Palace Examination.

Years later, the emperor's personal visit to the palace examination became custom-made.

The first place in the prefecture and county examinations has been called "Jie Yuan" since the Tang Dynasty. The first place in the central provincial examination was renamed "Provincial Yuan" in the Song Dynasty. The first place in the palace examination was called "Zhuang Yuan".

The Kaifeng Prefectural Examination is the state and county examination.

In later generations, some parents changed their children's household registration and took the imperial examination in less competitive places. In fact, this was already the case in the Song Dynasty.

But someone may ask, isn’t a place like Kaifeng Prefecture more competitive? Why seek abuse?

This is true, but it is just like the reason why the three Zhang brothers came to Kaifeng at that time.

Firstly, Kaifeng is the capital of the empire. Studying and communicating in Kaifeng can lead to the examination atmosphere;

Secondly, the number of people sent from different places is different, so it may be easier to succeed in Kaifeng Prefecture or other places with wider quotas than in your hometown. This is just like today's "college entrance examination immigrants" who have registered in Beijing in order to be more easily admitted to prestigious schools in Beijing.

.

Because according to the policy of the Song Dynasty, even if you are not a local but buy land locally, you can have a local household registration and are therefore eligible to participate in the examination. Therefore, scholars with sufficient financial resources can purchase land in other states and counties, open multiple accounts, and "make temporary arrangements."

It should be done according to the principles."

Although Zhang Heng had no land in Bianjing, Zeng Gongliang had a lot of land. After a little work, he directly applied for it.

A large number of scholars entered Bianjing City to prepare for the examination, which brought prosperity but also chaos to Bianjing City.

Common people in Bianjing often say that there are three harms to Bianjing: the water of the Bianhe River, the refugees in Wuyou Cave, and the scholars who passed the imperial examination.

The Bianhe River often floods Kaifeng, which is of course harmful;

The refugees in Wuyoudong often abduct children and women, kidnap good people and extort money, so naturally they are also harmful;

The newly elected scholars are like those who have been poor for a long time but suddenly become rich. They often do many ridiculous things, especially disturbing the people, which is a headache, so they are also called a disaster.

Bianjing is now filled with a large number of scholars. Although they are not scholars who have been promoted, there are still many problems.

Staying up all night and feasting, and disturbing the people with howling ghosts and wolves, these are actually trivial matters, but some scholars like to seduce women from good families. If they just seduce an unmarried woman, and then seriously talk about getting married, this is also a good thing.

However, some scholars regarded it as a hunt for beauty, deceived the person, then picked up their pants and ran away. Some women were deceived and went to sue the officials, only to find that the names they gave were also fake!

This kind of thing happens in every imperial examination, and there are quite a few.

Therefore, those who have a beautiful daughter-in-law or a beautiful daughter at home should pay close attention at this time to prevent weasels from tearing down the fence.

Zhang Heng was studying in the Zeng Mansion, and often heard some interesting things from his servants. For example, a certain family's daughter-in-law was stolen by a certain scholar, and even the family's money was defrauded. Who else's family's money was stolen?

My daughter has recently become pregnant, probably because of that damn bastard scholar again...

Zhang Heng couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. This kind of thing is probably just spreading rumors, or someone pretending to be a scholar to deceive others. There is also the matter of his daughter showing pregnancy. Hey, these scholars have only been in Beijing for a few days, so they are showing their pregnancy.

Already?

Just listen to these as jokes.

However, Mrs. Zeng took it seriously. Not only did Zeng Youwei not be allowed to go out during this period, but she also strictly disciplined the maids at home. They were not allowed to go out casually, and they were not allowed to be stolen. It would be a joke then.

However, these things were treated as jokes, but the whole atmosphere was heightened. Although Zhang Heng did not go outside, he could already imagine thousands of scholars pouring into Bianjing City, and this prosperous city would also change accordingly.

When cultures gather together, of course, they also become bustling and chaotic...

Amidst the hustle and bustle, the autumn wind blew the leaves yellow, and the leaves in Zeng's courtyard fell one by one. Zhang Heng also put on autumn clothes. Mrs. Zeng asked Tailor Chen to come to her house to measure her body and make the autumn clothes again.

Tailor Chen lamented that Zhang Heng's body had grown so fast. Within a few months, he had grown up. He could no longer wear last year's autumn clothes. He would have to make clothes again next summer.

In August, Zhang Heng and the Zeng brothers entered the final sprint, and the examiners of Kaifeng Mansion also entered the palace after attending the horse banquet on the curtain. The inner curtain officer entered the inner curtain of the back hall, and the supervisory officer sealed the door.

The officials do not interact with each other, and the officials behind the scenes cannot interact with or hear anything other than marking test papers.

Zeng Gongliang specially took a few days off to explain to Zeng Xiaokuan and Zhang Heng at home the matters that need to be avoided and paid attention to, such as the interpretation of the test. Of course, it was mainly for General Zhang Heng. Zeng Xiaozong and Zeng Xiaokuan had already participated several times because Zeng Xiaozong had already participated.

We are already familiar with the road.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, it was the first day of entry. Early in the morning, before dawn, the entire Zeng Mansion was busy. Mrs. Zeng checked the test boxes again and again to see if there was anything missing.

The servants prepare the carriage, breakfast, eating inside, etc.

Zeng Gongliang had already dressed neatly and reminded his three disciples of various precautions for the last time in the main room. Even Zeng Xiaochun was dragged along to listen to the lecture, saying that he was going to take the exam in the future, so why not feel the atmosphere first.

Zeng Youwei was also in and out, especially following Zhang Heng. From time to time, she would pull Zhang Heng to explain a few words, like a little daughter-in-law.

Both Zeng Gongliang and Mrs. Zeng turned a blind eye, and the three brothers Zeng Xiaokuan probably also turned a blind eye after they had been confessed.

After everything was ready, the three of them were put on the carriage and sent to the Imperial Academy.

The carriage turned into Royal Street.

The genius was bright, but the streets were already crowded with cars, and people without horse-drawn carriages were holding lanterns to send scholars off to take exams, making it as lively as going to a market.

Although many people nearby did not rush to take the exam, some of them got up early to see this grand event that only happened once in the past few years, and then warned the children at home who are studying: watch carefully, you will be like this in a few years...

There are bound to be bumps and bumps along the way, but no one will quarrel at this time. If they bump into each other, they will give each other hands and send auspicious words: Good omen, good omen! Knock, Zhongxinke!

Very harmonious.

Arriving outside the Imperial Academy, Zhang Heng woke up. When he got off the car, he saw the two brothers Zhang Yu and Zhang Shu waiting at the door. There were many people. The reason why they could see them at a glance was because the two brothers Zhang Yu and Zhang Shu were waiting at the door.

Because he is too tall.

Zhang Jun and Zhang Shu also saw him and hurriedly squeezed over. The two of them were tall and strong. People nearby were squeezed and staggered. Some wanted to yell, but when they saw the two brothers' figures, they just

All that was left was the muttering.

Zhang Jun came over to say hello to brothers Xiaozong and Xiaokuan, and then said to Zhang Heng: "Third brother, Guangzong Yaozu is here now!"

Zhang Shu, however, looked around and said with a smile: "Why haven't the people who wanted to capture your son-in-law come yet?"

Zhang Jun slapped him on the back of the head, Zhang Shu lowered his head, and then acted as if nothing had happened.

Zeng Xiaokuan pointed at the crowd in the distance and smiled: "Well, over there, it's not the time to snatch people yet, but they need to screen the target first. If they see that person..."

Zhang Shu quickly looked over and saw the man pointing at the crowd.

"...That person is just pointing out people to the servants at home. Scholars with names and surnames are all within their targets. When the results are released, it will be time to grab people. If not at this time,

Let him realize clearly that he has robbed the wrong person, and only after sending the person into the bridal chamber, he realizes that he made a mistake, and he will really cry endlessly."

Zhang Shu burst into laughter immediately.

However, Zeng Xiaozong pulled Zeng Xiaokuan aside and whispered: "After the exam, you must keep an eye on Ju Zheng. Mother has repeatedly told you not to let Ju Zheng take him away.

Sister Wei will blame us!"

Zeng Xiaokuan scratched his head and said, "Do you really want to marry Miss Youwei to Ju Zheng?"

Zeng Xiaozong slapped Zeng Xiaokuan on the back of his head. Zeng Xiaokuan lowered his head as if nothing had happened.

Zeng Xiaozong scolded: "Is this what you should think about? We will do whatever our mother tells us to do, otherwise our father will not be able to spare us, and neither will Youwei!"

Zeng Xiaokuan immediately shuddered and nodded quickly: "That's that!"

There was a loud bang, and the gate of Gongyuan slowly opened.

The prelude to the spring of the second year of Qingli began in the autumn of the first year of Qingli!

The great era has also arrived!

(End of chapter)