In the blink of an eye, the palace was there.

"Brother Wang, let's not talk about it, you will know who my Wei Bao is in the future, since I have found you, I will not find other fathers-in-law in the palace in the future, you can rest assured! I just thought that there was a capable person in the palace, and I could know something about it. Wei Bao said.

"I understand! If there is something about Wei Gongzi, I will definitely try to pass it on to Gongzi! Wang Shuangliang said.

"Brother Wang, if you don't dislike it, call me brother, right?" Wei Bao Road.

Wang Shuangliang pursed his lips, a little unaccustomed to such a title, it is very rare to intersect with peers in the palace, and they usually recognize their fathers!

Even if you are a person who is younger than yourself, if you want to cling to each other, you will recognize your father.

"Brother!" Wang Shuangliang finally screamed out.

"Big brother!" Wei Bao's skin is actually thicker than that of a eunuch, he is called big brother, and it has long been commonplace.

Wang Shuangliang nodded movingly: "I have been lonely all my life, I have no parents, no brothers and sisters, thank you brothers." ”

"Big brother, I will be your relative in the future!" Wei Bao blinked his eyes, "I have some properties in the capital, you can pick one at random, choose one and tell the people in the house, I will let people pack it up and live for the eldest brother, and it will be convenient to meet in the future." ”

"No, no, it really can't be like this. I understand my brother's kindness, I am not a steward brand, even if it is a steward brand, there are few people who dare to buy real estate outside the palace, this is a taboo, easy to attract envy. Wang Shuangliang said: "If there is anything, I will quietly go to your house." ”

"Okay, I'll clean up a set of courtyards for my eldest brother in my mansion, when does my eldest brother want to rest when he leaves the palace, he can live at any time." Wei Bao said enthusiastically. The degree of enthusiasm for Wang Shuangliang, a deacon and eunuch, is by no means inferior to the enthusiasm of Li Chengne, the eldest brother of the righteous brother he recognizes.

It's not that Wei Bao is hypocritical, he wants to use it when he sees people, the main thing is that he has this need, he really needs an inside line in the palace.

Sales is nothing else, it's not lowering your value to please your opponents, and you just need it, and I happen to be professional.

Now Wei Bao is a buyer, and he just needs someone like Wang Shuangliang.

As for whether Wang Shuangliang will go back to tell Wei Zhongxian about what he said about him today, Wei Bao is not worried, whether he tells or not, I don't have to lose a little bit of silver, what I want to buy is the news I got from you, at most it is fake news, or worthless news. I can't accept the news you gave me without thinking about it.

When he arrived at the front of the palace gate, Wang Shuangliang asked to get out of the car and took his own small sedan chair instead.

Wei Bao's carriage followed, and when he got a little closer to the palace gate, Wei Bao also got out of the car, this is the palace, not everyone's car and sedan chair can be approached.

Who has to be allowed to ride a horse and sit in a sedan chair in the Forbidden City? The kind of backer king Yang Lin is almost the same.

At this time, there were already a lot of people waiting, and the 60 people from the first and second classes were basically there.

"Master Wei, oh, no, it's time to call Master Wei." Wu Kongjia took the initiative to talk to Wei Bao.

Outside the palace gate, everyone is very restrained, try not to speak, few people talk, are nervous to wait for the meeting of the saint, that day the Golden Palace exam, although I have seen the emperor, but I have not heard the emperor speak, today is the second time.

No matter what time it is, people are nervous about the emperor, and the key is that layer of identity works.

This is not the emperor Wei Bao saw in modern TV and movies, but a real emperor.

"Oh, it's Brother Wu, yes, I should call Master Wu right now." Wei Bao replied indifferently.

The hottest topic that everyone whispered about was naturally the ownership of the champion, Bangyan and Tanhualang.

In fact, at this time, not only the new scholars did not know the final ranking, but also the civil and military officials and ministers did not know how to divide them in the end.

The ministers only know a little bit, anyway, the champion and the leader, if it is not expected, it must be two of the three Donglin students, if Tanhualang, Wei Zhongxian should get one of the two people from Wei Bao or Wu Kongjia, but I don't know who to get up.

Wu Kongjia also thought so in his heart, he squinted his eyes, and said softly to Wei Bao: "It seems that Lord Wei is the winner, and he thinks that the position of Tanhualang is none other than Lord Wei?" ’

"Lord Wu, why do you come from such a thing? I really didn't think so, Tanhualang should have come from the top three, right? The champion and the top eye are also among the top three, right? Wei Bao looked white.

"Lord Wei really doesn't know?" Wu Kongjia glanced at Wei Bao obliquely, "Tanhualang is most likely from Master Wei, you won Hua Qifang and Weng Hongye in Lord Shoufu's mansion that day, what qualifications do they have to rank above you?" In my opinion, you are qualified to be a role model and a champion. ”

Wu Kongjia's voice was not low when he said this, causing many Jinshi to look at him.

Only then did Wei Bao know that Wu Kongjia's words were meant for everyone, so as to arouse everyone's vigilance against himself.

The first thing to be an official is to keep a low profile, Wei Bao understands this truth.

Master Wu laughed, I never thought about it like this! I'm going to rest for a while, and when we meet with the saint, you can also raise your spirits! Wei Bao said, then closed his eyes, no longer paid attention to Wu Kongjia, and looked like he wanted to close his eyes and recuperate.

Wu Kongjia sneered silently, glanced at Wei Bao, and secretly thought that you are a proud fart, see how long you can be proud? Don't think that if you are in the limelight in the mansion of Lord Shousuke, you will be able to enter the top three, and you will be able to be named on the gold list, officialdom is not as simple as you think! Lao Tzu has the support of 9,000 years old, can he still lose to you, a hillbilly?

Once upon a time, Wu Kongjia was not only a hillbilly, but also a son of a poor family, but now he can look down on others so much that he completely forgets his own life experience.

All the first-class and second-class jinshi have stood in line, and on the other side, those who are from the same jinshi on the top three list have also stood in line.

From standing in line, it can be seen that there is a big difference in rank and grade, and there is also a big difference in service.

The service of the first and second class jinshi is also different from that of the third class of the same jinshi origin.

Although the time of the face of the saint is the same, the people on the top three list will be notified by the younger generations, and the person who informs them is not the eunuch in the palace, but the person from the Ministry of Rites.

Most of the people on the top three list have a bit of a psychological gap, lamenting that if they play better in the examination and can enter the first and second grades, they will not be treated differently now.

Wu Sanfu did not have a gap in his heart, and talked softly with a few people around him about the ownership of the champion, Bangyan and Tanhualang.

Everyone agreed that the champion, Bangyan and Tanhualang must have been produced from Yu Huang, Hua Qifang, Weng Hongye, Wu Kongjia and Wei Bao.

It's just that no one knows what will happen in the end, there is no impermeable wall in the world, whether it is a student of the Donglin department, or a Wei family, or a student of the neutral faction, everyone knows that Yu Huang, Hua Qifang and Weng Hongye belong to the Donglin department, Wu Kongjia belongs to the Wei family, and Wei Bao belongs to the neutral faction.

Because of this, for the final ranking, the talk is hot.

"The champion must be Yu Huang's, right? On that day, in the mansion of Lord Shoufu, Yu Huang was saved by Lord Zhu Yanxi and did not let him come out to compose a poetry competition. It must be him. A person from a new branch and a fellow jinshi said softly.

Many people around him agreed, thinking that this was the case.

"That is, I don't know who Bangyan and Tanhualang will end up with, it must be produced among Hua Qifang, Weng Hongye, Wu Kongjia and Wei Bao, if it is according to the results of the poem in Lord Shoufu's mansion that day, Wei Bao should be the best, it should be Bangyan!" Another said softly.

"It's not a formal competition, it's all private, and it can't decide where the final ranking belongs! It's impossible that because Wei Bao's poems are good, he can get the top spot or the champion, right? Others asked a different question.

This is a grand ceremony for the emperor to announce the ranking of Jinshi.

In the early morning of the next day after the palace examination papers, Luan Yiwei set up a halogen book in front of the Taihe Palace, and the music club and the sound department set up Zhonghe Shaole on both sides of the eaves of the Taihe Palace, and set up His Majesty Dan Dale on both sides of the Taihe Gate.

When Lile was together, everyone hurriedly formed a team and followed the eunuch into the palace.

On the square in the palace, hundreds of civil and military officials have lined up neatly.

Today is a big day, a big scene.

Below the king, more than eight points of the prince in the Dan Majesty, the civil and military officials in the Danqi, all wearing court clothes, according to the rank rank, all the tributes wear official clothes, wearing three branches and nine leaves crown, according to the rank of the civil and military officials after the east and west shifts.

The Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple set up two yellow cases: one in the east wing of the hall, and one in the middle of the Dan Majesty. The official of the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites set up a yellow case in the east side of the Taihe Palace, and the cabinet bachelor held the yellow list and placed it on the yellow case. Set up a cloud disk in His Majesty Dan, and set up a color pavilion to advocate the royal battle outside the noon gate.

At the beginning of the morning, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu went to the Qianqing Palace to invite the emperor to leave the palace with a ceremonial dress, and the close attendant introduced the Taihe Hall to ascend to the throne. At this time, Zhonghe Shao played the chapter of Longping, and a guard whipped under the eaves. After dancing three whips in a row, His Majesty played the chapter of Qingping.

After kneeling three times and bowing nine times, the official of Honglu Temple began to announce the "system": "To test the world's tribute scholars, the first class is given to the Jinshi and the first, the second is given to the Jinshi origin, and the third is given to the same Jinshi origin." ”

Wei Bao secretly looked, the emperor came in person, the outside of the hall came according to the etiquette of the Son of Heaven, in the eaves of the main hall there was a yellow umbrella cover with a nine-dragon crank, and the guards of the Son of Heaven with long knives, bows and spears for ceremonies stood on both sides of the steps, majestic.

The whole hall is particularly majestic and grand.

"Whip!"

A tall imperial guard held a long whip made of yellow silk in a ring, shook it vigorously, and then whipped it heavily on the ground, a total of three times.

The sound of popping is particularly sharp, and everyone can hear it clearly.

Then it is the end of the "system", singing the first place Yu Huang, the first champion!

Yu Huang had been prepared, but when he really heard his name, he was still excited, and kowtowed with tears to thank him.

Whether it was the jinshi or the officials, there was no surprise.

The first in the general examination, and generally the first after the temple examination, there are very few changes.

Everyone is more concerned about the first and second, and they are more concerned about who the list eye is.

Next, the official of Honglu Temple led the champion out of class to kneel on the left side of the royal road, and then sang the first and second names, and the second place, that is, the list eye, is Hua Qifang!

Nothing has changed!

All the Donglin ministers breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time felt that Wei Zhongxian was really powerful, at least this time Wei Zhongxian did not make any waves, and maintained the face of all the Donglin ministers!

Neither the 1st nor the 2nd place has changed!

The official of Honglu Temple led the list of eyes out of class, and knelt on the right side of the royal road.

The next thing to sing is the name of the first and third place in the palace examination, that is, the list eye!

Wei Bao and Wu Kongjia couldn't help but glance at each other, and at the same time, Weng Hongye also glanced at Wei Bao and Wu Kongjia, the three of them had hope, and they didn't know whose position this Tanhualang was, and they were all anxiously waiting.

The waiting heart seems to be beating wildly and is about to hit out of the chest!

Although Wei Bao's concentration is much better than that of the past, it is no longer comparable to the silk of modern times.

But it's been a long time since I've experienced this kind of nervousness.

The last time I felt this way, it seems that it was the first time I kissed a girl, right?

Although for Wei Bao in this life, scientific research is a way, but it is definitely not the only way, he doesn't have to regard this as too important.

But after more than a year of dedication, I usually spend more or less time on scientific knowledge, and after these efforts, there are naturally equivalent expectations.

There is also the fact that under the influence of the ears and eyes, it has long been influenced by the people of this era.

Because the average modern person has access to many things that the lowest class cannot reach in a lifetime. Being able to get a glimpse of the life of the top-level characters has generally raised the horizons of modern people to the point where they cannot imagine the social hierarchy of ancient people, and they cannot imagine those levels that are not suitable for their own status.

When looking at the problems of ancient times, we should use the eyes of the ancients.

The illiteracy rate in ancient society was more than ninety percent, which may be more than that, and there may not be one person out of ten who can read and write!

Dynasties with a worse situation, such as the Yuan Dynasty, had an illiteracy rate of more than 99 per 1,000!

In ancient society, it was almost impossible for an ordinary peasant to leave his county, let alone the province, for the rest of his life. A lifetime of sunrise and sunset, the largest range of activities is the surrounding villages, the most powerful people are only the big landlords of ten miles and eight townships, people who can know hundreds of words are already quite literate people, for them, this county is their own world.

So in the past, it was no joke to say that the peasants imagined the emperor using a golden hoe.

Ordinary people were placed in ancient times, and there was a high probability that they were in this class.

If you understand this, you will be able to understand what the concept of fame in the imperial examination is.

Fame in the imperial examination has never been a concept of academic qualifications, and it is very funny to use the imperial examination to compare the college entrance examination.

In ancient times, people who were able to read were basically at home. The possibility of poor peasant families letting their children study is extremely low, and poor scholars like Kong Yiji are actually in the minority.

Ordinary scholars have to go to the county to take the "Tongsheng" exam, and only after passing the exam can they be eligible to continue the exam.

There are many people who can't pass the Tongsheng exam at the age of fifty or sixty, and the highest class among the children is called Xiucai, so it is very difficult to get Xiucai.

In the Qing Dynasty, the total number of children was about 200~3 million, the number of Xiucai was 460,000, the population of the Qing Dynasty was 100 million to 400 million, and in more than 200 years, an empire with hundreds of millions of people produced less than 500,000 Xiucai.

Being able to be admitted to Xiucai means that you have been accepted as a reserve by the ruling class.

Xiucai has many privileges, he does not kneel when he sees the official, he does not have to be punished when he is tried, he does not have to serve forced labor, and so on.

In ancient society, being able to be a showman was already a local figure, because they were fundamentally different from ordinary "people" in terms of identity.

And when you are a lifter, it is even more awesome.

The people are selected through the township examination, and they are selected in the province.

For the ancients, being able to leave the county and go to the provincial capital is already something that can be bragged about for a lifetime. And Xiu is qualified to see this world.

If you can be admitted to the lift, the province will directly send someone to notify you, which is really explosive news. Generally speaking, in remote areas, a county can produce a person, which can be regarded as a good way of education, and can be counted as the political achievements of local officials.

Liaoxi, where Wei Bao is located, has not raised people for more than 20 years!

In the entire two hundred and sixty years of the Qing Dynasty, a total of 150,000 people were produced, an average of less than 600 a year. When he became a lifter, he has officially stepped into the ranks of "officials". Although the official is not big, that is, an official position of seven or eight grades, which is equal to the deputy county magistrate, but for the ancient people, he already belongs to the ranks of the "big lord".

In ancient society, the gap between "officials" and "people" was very large, and it was an absolute gap that could not be crossed.

The county lord has a god-like status among the ordinary people, and the ancients said that "destroy the prefect and break the county order", whether it is the common people or the local squire, the county lord is already absolute authority for them. And if you can easily become a deputy county magistrate (county magistrate), you naturally belong to the ranks of the "big lord", and the local squire is afraid that she will not be able to stammer.

Fan Jinzhongju, who was originally a rural teacher, who saw who bullied, once in the middle of the lift, the largest local tyrant in the county came to visit in person, and sent money and called brothers, all these changes only happened within a few hours of the notice was delivered.

At the level of Jinshi, it basically has little to do with the common people.

In general folk tales, there are very few Jinshi characters, and Juren is already the highest-level character that the people may come into contact with.

As for Jinshi, that's basically a legend.

How hard is the Jinshi exam?

The examination is held once every three years, and about 300 jinshi are produced.

In later generations, there were about 3,000 high-ranking officials and cadres in office across the country.

As for Wei Bao's first-class and second-class jinshi, as long as they are not old, they can't move, they have ten years of officialdom experience, and they don't offend any big people, and they basically have the opportunity to be promoted to high-ranking officials.

Although there is only one level difference between Jinshi and Juren, the gap is quite large.

The starting point of the jinshi is the end point of the lifting, after the jinshi is on the list, the worst treatment is to be assigned to the county order, and if the lifter can be the county commander when he retires, it is already regarded as burning high incense.

Even if a jinshi is useless, incompetent, or unlucky, if he does not enter the central government for the rest of his life, he can retire as a local five-grade prefect, which is equivalent to a high-ranking city official.

And most of the Jinshi, who have been officials for more than ten years and decades, are usually mixed with political envoys (high-ranking officials).

If you enter the central government, it is common for you to enter the scholar for the rest of your life, retire as a veteran of the three dynasties, and posthumously seal the three princes and three orphans or the prince and the master and the young master.

In ancient times, the Jinshi, the probability is destined that the outcome of this life is a high-ranking official with real power to a deputy state-level cadre, if the results are good (the top few in the first or second class), you can basically determine the cabinet to worship the prime minister.

And all of this is obtained through exams.

The imperial examination system can be said to be one of China's greatest contributions to world civilization.

With such a generous feedback, it is no wonder that the ancients had a saying that everything is inferior but that reading is high.

In later generations, even if he graduated from a world-famous university or a postdoctoral degree, his bottom line is at most the level of lifting people.

It still can't be compared with Jinshi.

Champion, Bangyan, and Tanhua, these three names have a common name - Yijia.

Jinshi is divided into first, second, and third, of which there are three people in the first class, that is, the top three in the country.

The champion article is the best, at least recognized by both the emperor and the civil officials.

Tanhua's appearance must be handsome, at least not ugly, this is an unwritten rule.

In the imperial examination, the status of those who are in the middle of the flower is not lower than that of the middle champion.

On the contrary, the person who is in the middle of the flower may be happier than the person who is in the champion, because it represents the double affirmation of his talent and appearance by the imperial court.

For example, Zhang Juzheng's teacher Xu Jie, who was a flower explorer in the second year of Jiajing.

The three who can be in the first grade, and the top few in the second grade, are all outstanding in the imperial examination and have an extremely bright future.

Others may go to the local government to become a county magistrate after passing the exam, or go to the Sixth Central Department to start from the main work to improve their qualifications, but they don't have to. These top students will be sent to the Hanlin Academy to serve as "Shu Jishi", although the official is not older than the other students, but the position is different.

There was an unwritten rule in the Ming and Qing dynasties that the prime minister (cabinet scholar, minister of military aircraft) must be a person from the Shu Jishi, although there are exceptions, but if you can become a Shu Jishi, it is a matter of time before you enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister.

Even if you can't worship the prime minister, it is a sure thing to be a second-class scholar in the central government, and you will become the most powerful bigwigs in the empire.

How important is the imperial examination to a unified empire like China?

First of all, the imperial examination plays a huge role in safeguarding the unity of the country and the Chinese language.

Before Qin Shi Huang unified China, on the land of China, each country had its own script, and it was Qin Shi Huang who unified the script into the same style. However, given the vastness of China, the linguistic differences between different regions are not the same as foreign languages. During the 1,000 years from Qin Shi Huang to Emperor Wen of Sui, Chinese characters underwent several changes in fonts.

Without the imperial examinations, it is difficult to guarantee that for more than a thousand years, various localities would not have developed their own scripts.

With the imperial examinations, literati from all over the world had to write articles in the same language, and even the same calligraphy. This is a huge advantage of the unification of Chinese characters.

The imperial examination has greatly improved the Chinese social system and Chinese culture.

When the British first set foot on Chinese soil, they were extremely impressed by the Chinese imperial examination system - in your country, ordinary people can actually gain power by studying?

This is unthinkable for Europeans. Until modern times, blood continued to dominate the power structure in Europe.

Chinese From the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang to the Hanmen in the imperial examination, the imperial examination has greatly dealt a blow to the theory of descent in Chinese society, so that the gate lord clan no longer has a place to live.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the gate lords monopolized all the bureaucracy, such as Wang Xizhi's son Wang Xianzhi, who could not even distinguish between a horse and a donkey, could become a high-ranking officer, and there was no fairness at all in that era.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the scholars disdained to have any dealings with the Han people, and they were not even willing to talk to the Han people.

Wei Bao can enter the competition for the highest power today, how can he not be excited?

"Jinke's Tanhualang is Wei Bao!" The official who read the decree finally said the name!

Is it Wei Bao?

Is it Wei Bao?

All of them are almost question marks.

Although everyone had thought that it might be Wei Bao, when it was really confirmed, no one was not full of suspicions.

Even Wu Sanfu was also surprised.

Wei Bao will only say to Wu Xuexia about things, and generally things that have nothing to do with Wu Sanfu will not take the initiative to tell this old brother.

On the one hand, it was useless to tell him, and on the other hand, I was afraid that he would have a big mouth, so I couldn't help but say it.

Everyone looked at Wei Bao almost immediately, although Wei Bao was not surprised, he already knew it, but in the face of everyone's gaze, he couldn't help but blush.