(2-in-1.) Happy Juneteenth, if you can still live it. It's the beginning of the month, so let's vote for a free monthly pass. ）

In order to eliminate mutual influence. The houses here are all arranged independently of each other. There is not a wall separating the left and right houses, but two walls, plus a narrow alley. The advantage of this is that they are better insulated from each other and the possibility of cheating is eliminated.

Like the pattern of the local tribute institutes, which are separated by walls, there have been cases of left and right candidates banging on the walls to interfere with others' exam breaks, and taking advantage of the close proximity of adjacent conversations to pass on cheating. But here, that's impossible.

The downside, of course, is that this layout wastes a lot of manpower and valuable land area. But this is worth it in terms of asking for absolute fairness and selecting absolutely reliable candidates with real talents. Of course, the pattern of this tribute courtyard was built when the Great Zhou Dynasty was at its richest, when the treasury was full and did not care about this waste at all. At this time, it would never be done. But even in the current situation, those officials of the Ministry of Rites still do their best, and with a small amount of money, they still keep the Ministry of Rites in good condition.

In the early morning of 24 March, more than 3,000 victors who had been relieved of the test who lived in various parts of the city gathered at the entrance of the Neigongyuan Street in Nanxunmen. On both sides of the royal street, this large area of Taixue Guozijian and even the Gongyuan has become a military situation. One of the three forbidden armies, the forbidden soldiers and horses of the Infantry Division of the guards have been stationed here early, blocking the bridges at the southeast, northwest and southeast crossings in this area. Ensure the smooth progress of the spring examination.

Although there is only one gate for the west entrance of the Rite Shrine, there are not many people, so the order of admission is orderly and everything is in order.

Yesterday, Lu Wu and Xiaohu were busy preparing dry food, vegetables, bedding, tea, teapots, stoves and other things for them. I have the experience of understanding the trial, and this time I didn't bring some fragile pastries or anything, so as not to be cut open when I entered, and all became some crumbs. The fewer things the better, so as not to delay the time when entering the venue, and everything will be separated by people.

At the end of the day, Lin Jue and Lin Youde, accompanied by Green Dance, Xie Yingying and others, came to the front of the Nanxun Gate checkpoint. As Lin Jue guessed, the little county lord Guo Caiwei had already come here with her entourage, and she had come to send Lin Jue into the examination room.

"You're here. Said not to use. Lin Jue smiled and stepped forward to salute.

The little county lord smiled and returned the salute: "Why don't I come, this is a big event in your life, I will send you." ”

Lin Jue smiled: "Thank you, thank you, in fact, this is not a big deal, it's just an exam." Just treat it with a normal heart. You seem to value you more than I do. ”

Guo Caiwei glanced at him and said: "This is a matter related to the fate of life, and it is naturally not trivial." And...... It's not just your business, it's ...... My expectations and the expectations of many people. ”

Lin Jue was stunned, nodded and smiled: "What I said is, don't worry, I will work hard." ”

Guo Caiwei smiled and said: "This is like words, give you the same thing." ”

Guo Caiwei took out a small narrow wooden box from the cui sleeve and handed it over: "This is a tube of Zihao." It is said to be a good pen made by a small handful of back hair that concentrates more than a dozen kinds of hares. At that time, I was learning to write, and my father gave it to me, saying that it was very precious. I've never been willing to use it. I will send you into the exam room today to answer the questions, I hope to help you. ”

Lin Jue didn't shirk, stretched out his hand to take it and said with a smile: "Thank you, I accepted it." I believe that when I write articles with this pen, I will be able to write a dragon and a snake, and my thoughts will spring up, and my pen will be like a cloud. ”

Guo Caiwei smiled: "That's the best." By the way, there's something I want to tell you. My father has come to the capital. ”

Lin Jue was stunned for a moment, and said in surprise: "The prince has come to the capital?" Why didn't you say it earlier? ”

Guo Caiwei pursed her lips and smiled: "I just arrived last night, and I told you that you don't have time to see him." My father said, when your big exam is over, please go and see him. ”

Lin Jue said: "That's a certainty. ”

At the checkpoint crossing, a drum sounded three times, which was a signal urging candidates to enter the venue. Lin Jue arched his hand and said, "I'll go, I'll see you in three days." ”

The little county lord nodded and said, "Go, I will come here to welcome you in three days." Good luck with your success, Jinbang High School. ”

Lin Jue laughed and said, "I will live up to my expectations by borrowing your auspicious words." ”

At that moment, he bowed goodbye to everyone, and Lin Youde carried the futon and the package on his back and followed the flow of people into the checkpoint.

After passing three checkpoints in a row, he arrived in front of the gate of the Tribute Courtyard. But I saw that temporary arrow towers were built on both sides of the gate of the Gongyuan. A heavily guarded look. In front of the gate of the Tribute Academy, a tall horse block a passage for one person only, and all students entering the Tribute Academy were subjected to strict searches. Near the left, groups of forbidden soldiers patrolled outside the wall, and the atmosphere was quite tense.

But for these tributes, this is actually nothing. Even if it is the first time to participate in the imperial examination, after experiencing the autumn examination, they are also mentally prepared. Spring can only be more severe, not lax.

However, when the items were checked, unlike the rude and insulting body searches of those guys during the examination, the soldiers of the Forbidden Army in charge of the search were quite polite. For example, cakes and other things still have to be dissected and examined, but they will not do it, but ask the tributes to do it themselves according to their requirements, so that they will not make a mess. They also don't require candidates to take off their underwear for inspection. They do searches, but they mostly pinch the corners of their clothes and bedding and other places where they can easily hide, and they don't make a mess with a knife.

When he entered the walls of the Gongyuan after the investigation, Lin Jue was surprised to see a person above a wooden platform inside the door. Guo Kun, the little prince in full uniform, was standing with his waist crossed, facing the direction of the students who were rushing in at the door. Lin Jue was stunned, and even understood why the little prince was here. Guo Kun is the deputy capital of the Guards and Pro-Army Infantry Division, and the soldiers and horses on duty here today are the forbidden soldiers and horses of the Guards and Pro-Army Infantry Division. Guo Kun must be the leading general in charge of the security and vigilance work of the imperial examination. In other words, Guo Kun, a fictitious position in the army, now has a little bit of actual power. This may be what Guo Kun hopes to have when he comes to the capital.

Guo Kun seemed to sense Lin Jue's gaze, and he turned his gaze from a distance, and looked sideways at Lin Jue, who was standing below. Lin Jue put down the package and arched his hand towards him, Guo Kun's face showed a smile, and he also returned the salute with a fist.

Lin Jue's house this time is No. 8. The position is so high, it should be because of the understanding of the yuan. Lin Youde's house is in the No. 39 house of Xuzi, and the two broke up under the sign at the intersection of the tree-lined road, encouraging each other to go to their respective houses.

The house is located in the shade of the southernmost tree in the Gongyuan. The bluestone road leads directly to the front of several rows of houses. The house is built in the black and white architectural style of She County, Jiangnan, which is quite pleasing to the eye under the shade of the trees. What makes Lin Jue even happier is that there is a delicate rockery and bamboo cultivation in front of Building No. 8, which is quite quiet and elegant. Standing in front of the building, there is no noise around, only listening to the wind blowing the canopy and rustling the bamboo leaves, which is quite quiet, quiet and comfortable.

Soon after, three melodious bells rang out in the distance, and a tall official, under the protection of a group of soldiers, came quickly, took out the key on his waist and opened the door locks of the row of houses where Lin Jue was located one by one. A candidate entered the room, followed by the sound of a clattering lock on the door.

When the tall official came to the door of the No. 8 house, he glanced at Lin Jue, and a strange smile appeared in his eyes. When Lin Juezheng was puzzled, the official shouted, "Go in." ”

Lin Jue thanked him and walked forward, and the official muttered in Lin Jue's ear in a low voice at the moment when Lin Jue stumbled: "Woo." ”

Lin Jue was stunned for a moment, and when he turned his head, the door of the number house behind him had been closed, and the official had already led people to the next number house.

Lin Jue stood at the door in a daze and thought for a moment, and suddenly understood something. Wu Chunlai's ghost lingered and sent someone to deliver the signal. What he said that day was a code word for 'Pi Xiu Zai', and today's 'Woo Woo' should also be a code word. Wu Chunlai is afraid that he is more concerned about whether he can pass the exam than himself, and he is going to carry himself into the ranks of Jinshi. Of course, that's because he desperately needs to work for him.

Lin Jue was a little funny, Wu Chunlai was also persevering, but he thought that he was the same as him, a person who coveted glory and wealth, and that was completely wrong. However, Wu Chunlai, who is unscrupulous for the sake of the end, and who takes pragmatism and selfishism as the starting point, is also a big trouble. We have to find a way to solve this problem.

The bell rang again, and Lin Jue cleaned up his mood and began to open the package and sprinkle the house to settle down. Soon after, dozens of handymen shuttled between the halls, chanting aloud the rules of the examination room. This scene is all routine, and it has also been experienced during the test, and Lin Jue does not think so. Make the bed on the second floor, wipe down the tables, chairs, and bookcases below, and sort and arrange the food, stoves, lamps, and toiletries you brought in. By the time it was ready, dozens of officials had already begun handing out exam papers.

At the right time, the voice of the order spread throughout the Gongyuan House, and the five-year Jinshi Department of Da Zhou Qingfeng officially opened.

……

In the evening, the setting sun shines on the open space between the rows of palaces in the Great Zhou Palace, and the vigorous flowers and trees look like they have been plated with a layer of gold in the sun, and the golden houses of the main hall shine brightly. Everything around the light reflects and shines, creating a dreamlike scene of resplendent splendor.

Guo Chong, the supreme ruler of the Great Zhou Dynasty, sat in this golden light at this moment, feeling the golden and brilliant atmosphere around him. He liked this time very much, since he was very young, he would sometimes sit in the back garden of the Funing Hall in the palace harem, looking at the golden light between heaven and earth in a daze. At that time, he could not stay here for long, because it was his father's bedchamber, and he could only sneak in occasionally to enjoy the view.

Since then, he has been fascinated by the colors and atmospheres, which he feels are the colors of supreme power. The red walls, golden roof tiles, brightly colored cornices, and birds and beasts standing in the sky are all symbols of power. They are the same as the throne in the Daqing Palace, only one person can have all this, and that is the emperor of the Great Zhou Empire.

From the time he was sensible, he knew that he was destined to take over all this from his father. He is the eldest son of the emperor, and he is destined to become the lord of the world. But he knows that his qualification is not easy to come by. He almost fell ill and died when he was born, and if it weren't for the careful care of his mother, he would have been gone. Therefore, the mother guard is the person he respects the most, and he is the one who gives him all this. However, despite this, he felt inexplicably panicked. After all, the son of his father and mother is not only himself, his younger brother Guo Bing is smart and clever, and he is deeply liked by his father and mother when he urinates, and he is actually qualified to be the master of all this.

When he was a teenager, Guo Chong was well-read and had a strong desire to learn. The more he read, the more he learned about the history books of this dynasty and the previous dynasty, and the more thoroughly he understood, the more he understood how terrible the struggle for power on the throne was. Sometimes, even if it is destined, it may not be successful. For example, in the previous dynasty Li Tang Xuanwumen Change, Li Shimin killed the crown prince in order to seize the throne, which was also his own brother. Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty seized the throne, didn't he also abolish the crown prince Yang Yong? Therefore, he believes that he must do his best to maintain his position, and must not allow such a thing to happen.

Therefore, when his younger brother Guo Bing was very young, Guo Chong was already wary of Guo Bing. To be honest, my younger brother was actually very cute and pleasing to himself when he was a child, and he followed him like a little tail. But reason told Guo Chong that he had to let this younger brother understand from the time he was sensible that he must not think about things that did not belong to him, and his brother was by no means something he could offend.

Therefore, Guo Chong did a lot of heinous things to his younger brother Guo Bing when he was a teenager, of course, no one knew about these things except for the parties Guo Chong and Guo Bing.

Once, he saw that his father had given his younger brother a jade pendant that he had with him, and his younger brother happily hung it around his neck. Guo Chong called Guo Chong to a secluded place, took away the jade pendant and smashed it. Facing his younger brother who was crying bitterly, Guo Chong told him in a cold tone: If he dares to take anything from his father in the future, he will not spare him. Everything on his father's body belongs to him, and if he dares to touch it, he will not spare him.

Another time, Guo Bing didn't listen to his own warning, and his father rewarded him with a budgie that was paid tribute by the vassal state. Guo Chong immersed the parrot cage in the lotus pond in the back garden in front of Guo Bing. By the time the cage was taken out, the parrot had become a wet pile of rotten feathers. Guo Chong told Guo Bing at that time that if he didn't listen to himself, it would not be this bird that would be put in a cage and sink into the water in the future, but Guo Bing himself.

I don't know what kind of thoughts Guo Bing had in his heart at that time, but from then on, Guo Chong saw the awe and timidity he wanted in Guo Bing's eyes. Guo Chong no longer dared to have any behaviors and actions that exceeded his duty. He never dared to take anything that his father and mother had given him. When he was in front of him, he always looked like he was afraid of promises, and he rushed to explain what others said to him. In short, he was completely tamed.

Although Guo Chong sometimes feels that his behavior is too much, Guo Chong in his bones actually doesn't want to kill each other, he just doesn't want to develop to that point, so he does these things in advance, in case his younger brother will be ambitious in the future and compete with him for things that don't belong to him.

In fact, one day when the two brothers grew up, Guo Chong also apologized and blamed himself to Guo Bing for some of his actions when he was a child. Guo Chong said that he was ignorant at the time and was too mean to Guo Bing, and Guo Bing also said that he was just ignorant when he was a child, and he had long forgotten about Yunyun. But Guo Chong still felt awe and alienation from Guo Bing's body. But in fact, what Guo Chong wants to see is this eternal awe and alienation, because only in this way will Guo Bing never force himself to do something he doesn't want to do.

After that, the younger brother got the order to go to Hangzhou to suppress the bandits, and his father ordered him to allow him to establish a mansion in Hangzhou. At first, Guo Chong was also happy, because it meant that he had no shackles on the road to becoming the lord of the world. It wasn't until one day that he heard the truth about this matter from the mouth of the queen mother, and he understood that it was all arranged by his father. His father saw that he was mean to his younger brother, and he told his mother that he was worried that he would not be able to tolerate Guo Bing, so he decided to let Guo Bing leave the capital and stay in Hangzhou far away in the name of suppressing bandits, which was actually a kind of protection.

When he heard this, the anger in Guo Chong's heart was indescribable. My father really likes my younger brother. And the annoying thing is that the younger brother actually accepted such an arrangement. Just like when he was a child, he once again received the love that his father gave him, and he forgot the warning he gave him when he was a child. All his reverence and reverence were fake. He went to Hangzhou and stayed away from himself, which just shows that he has a ghost in his heart.

Fortunately, there were no bumps in the road to his accession. After sixteen years as the crown prince, he finally became the master of the Great Zhou and finally became the most powerful person in the world. But after the initial joy, he soon realized what kind of situation he was facing, and it didn't seem to be what he had imagined.

When he was still the crown prince, Guo Chong had great revenge and ambition. He saw a lot of things that he was very dissatisfied with.

For example, the terms of the Yanyun Alliance set by Huizong and the Liao people back then. When the Great Zhou Dynasty was in full swing, the Liao people invaded, which was a great opportunity to expand the territory. However, at that time, he actually signed the Yanyun Alliance with the Liao people, and agreed to give 500,000 taels of coins in exchange for the peaceful coexistence of the two countries.

This is simply an incredible thing for Guo Chong, Huizong has a very high evaluation of his reign, but in Guo Chong's view, this matter has become a stain that cannot be washed away. That's not really a matter of money. 500,000 taels of silver is nothing, that's a matter of face, that's a matter of Da Zhou's prestige. How could Da Zhou, who was sitting on a million soldiers, be forced by the cavalry of 200,000 people on the other side to make an alliance under the city? This is humiliating and unacceptable. Guo Chong thought: Once he ascended the throne as emperor, the first thing to abolish was this covenant, and the Liao people dared to violate it, so they took the opportunity to expand their territory and destroy them. If he can do this, he will undoubtedly be among the Ming Monarch Saint Emperors.

There is also such a glorious and prosperous country of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and there are still mountain bandits, lake bandits, and sea bandits in the country, which makes a mess. And the former emperor of the previous dynasty for so many years, even the domestic bandits have not been quelled. To say an ugly and disrespectful word, they are not worthy of being virtuous and promising. And once he takes the throne, he will sweep away these tumors in the country one by one, so that Haiqing Heyan and Yunai will clarify, and the Great Zhou will be a real peaceful and prosperous era, just like a peach blossom spring.

In short, when he was young, Guo Chong had great expectations for his future, and he felt that if he ascended the throne, he would make no less meritorious deeds than the Qin Emperor and Han Wu, and he would definitely become the Ming Emperor and Holy Lord praised by future generations. He was very dismissive of some of the practices of the previous emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he thought that they failed to do what an emperor should do, they were all a little timid, and did not have the bearing to kill decisively and resolutely. He believes that perhaps this is God's choice, when the Great Zhou Dynasty is content with the status quo, let himself bear this burden, on the one hand, reverse many mistakes before the Great Zhou Dynasty, and on the other hand, achieve his reputation as an emperor through the ages. All this is predestined by God and is logical.

However, when Guo Bing ascended the throne, he soon realized how ridiculous and naïve his previous ideas were. What he thought was something he would do overnight turned out to be nothing like that at all. He was thinking too simply, too idealistic.