What is the function of the examiner? To put it simply, it is specifically to rate the performance of court officials.

For example, at the beginning, why were Cui Geng's two "upper" evaluations rare? It is because, even if there is a strong recommendation from the feudal officials and the support of the prince of the imperial court, it is still possible for the officials to reject it. The person in charge of this matter in the Ministry of Officials is the examiner Wailang.

To put it more seriously, Zhang Qian, the old man who spoke well in Yangzhou at the beginning, also had to be evaluated by the examiner Wailang every year.

In addition, unlike the imperial examinations in later generations, which were presided over by the waiters of the Ministry of Rites, in the Tang Dynasty (Wu Anniversary, according to the convention, the annual imperial examination was presided over by the examiner Wailang.

In this year's imperial examination, there was no even a vague name. Whether you can pass the test and what your ranking is is completely a sentence from the examiner.

This official position is so important that it is called "Little Heavenly Official", implying that its actual power is not much smaller than that of the official department.

It is precisely because of this that the examiner has become a battleground for all forces. Since the death of the last examiner, Di Renjie and Zhang Changzong have fought for this job.

Now that Zhang Changzong has this loophole, can he not vomit blood?

Seeing this, Wu Zetian even felt a little sad that the rabbit died and the fox died - Di Renjie, who is famous all over the world, was forced to such a point by Zhang Changzong, who was generally talented, it seems that he is really old. I'm nearly eighty years old now, so I'm afraid it won't be long...... It's going to be the same as him, and his mind is not as good as before, right?

Thinking of this, Her Majesty the Empress sighed and said, "If Di Xiang really doesn't want to, this official can also ......."

"No!"

After Di Renjie vomited a mouthful of blood, he became more energetic and said: "A manly man, it is difficult to chase after a horse. Since Weichen said that he would not interfere with Cui Ying's holding of any official position below the fifth rank, he would not interfere. But ......"

"How?"

Old man Di said: "Zhang Chang recommends talents, and Weichen also recommends talents." Although his talent is not as good as Cui Ying, there should be no problem in serving as a seven-grade merit examiner. ”

"Oh? But I don't know who Di Aiqing wants to recommend? ”

"The external move does not avoid relatives, the internal move does not avoid hatred, the person recommended by Weichen is the son of Weichen, named Di Jinghui, who is now in Weichen's house."

Di Jinghui?

People look at each other, they haven't heard of this name! Who doesn't know, Di Renjie has three sons, the eldest son Guanghei, the second son Guangyuan, and the third son Guangzhao, where did this Di Jinghui come from? Could it be that Di Renjie was young and had an illegitimate child?

Wu Zetian said: "The elder of the country once recommended Di Guangsi as a local official and was very competent. I recommend Di Jinghui this time, and it must be no exception. Why don't you announce him into the palace now, and let me test him with all Aiqing? ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Her Majesty the Empress had a will, and the effort was not great, so Di Jinghui walked into the main hall.

However, when all the prime ministers looked at it, their noses were crooked.

It turned out that this so-called Di Jinghui was not someone else, it was Di Renjie who personally went to the Cultural Revolution to remove all functions and claimed that he would never use it.

They all thought in their hearts, anyway, your Di Renjie's qualifications are there, and Di Guangzhao is also from a Jinshi. If you want to slap yourself in the face, it is not impossible to let Di Guangzhao serve as the chief of the merit examination. However, changing the name and surname is too insulting to everyone's IQ, right?

In Wu Zetian's heart, the meaning of sympathy is even heavier - Di Renjie is arranging the future and paving the way for his children and grandchildren! I broke my heart for the sake of a hundred years later, the Wu and Li families lived in peace. Di Renjie has worked hard for the court all his life, and before he died, is it too much to ask for an official for his son?

Thinking of this, she thought that she was confused, and regarded Di Guangzhao in front of her as Di Jinghui, asked a few questions casually, and appointed him as the chief of the Tianguan (the chief of the official department.

Then there is the issue of Du Xianyan and Du Ju.

Du's trial was framed, and this is undisputed. Wu Zetian originally wanted him to be reinstated and continue to go to Jizhou as a secretary to join the army.

However, Cui Geng took pity on his talent and proposed that he make a poem "Joy Poem" to thank Her Majesty the Empress for his rehabilitation.

Du Xunyan's literary talent is really not covered, and he immediately composed a poem, praising Wu Zetian for his wisdom and wisdom Wu Yakexi, and the handsome and affectionate Zhang brothers.

Wu Zetian changed his mind and appointed Du Xianyan as the author. Du and avenged his father, his heart is commendable, let him go to Chengjun to study, and he will be reused in the future.

After the deliberations were over, Cui Geng and the prime ministers went out of the main hall and went back to their respective homes to find their own mothers. What about Her Majesty the Empress, Wu Zetian? and the two Zhang brothers and a group of shameless literati! Have fun.

That night, Zhang Yizhi accompanied Wu Zetian back to the palace.

Zhang Changzong had a large banquet, one was to catch the wind for "Cui Ying", the second was to celebrate "Cui Ying" to win the office, and the third was to introduce his confidants to him.

Don't look at "Cui Ying" and he haven't even met before, but in the moral concept of these years, Zhang Changzong's official who helped Cui Ying is Cui Ying's reborn parents. Therefore, Zhang Changzong has no doubts about Cui Ying's loyalty.

Syllable! Syllable! Syllable!

Zhang Changzong clapped his hands three times in a row, the maids kept shuttling, and all kinds of delicacies were placed on several cases like running prices.

He pointed to an official in his forties and dressed in a purple official robe, and said, "Brother Cui, do you know who this is?" ”

"I don't know."

"His surname is Zhang Mingxi, and he is now an official in the heavenly office."

Cui Geng hurriedly clenched his fists and arched his hand, and said: "The lower official will visit Zhang Shilang, and the lower official will also serve in the heavenly official in the future, and I will ask Zhang Shilang to take care of him." ”

"You don't need to ask him to take care of it." Zhang Changzong waved his hand slightly, and said with a little smugness: "Zhang Xi is about to be recommended by this official and promoted to the Fengge Sheren and Luantai Pavilion Pingzhangshi." It's too far away, he wants to take care of you, but he can't. ”

"Huh?" Of course, Cui Geng knew Zhang Xi, but he really didn't know about Zhang Xi's promotion to prime minister, so he couldn't help but exclaim.

Zhang Changzong only thought that Cui Geng was shocked by his power, and he was even more proud, and said: "Actually, this is nothing, the original Ji Ji was promoted to prime minister, and this official also helped a lot." Brother Cui, you remember, as long as you sincerely serve me, I can't treat him badly. Take this squire for example......"

Then, Zhang Changzong asked Cui Geng and Zhang Xi to sit down, and slowly told a story about Zhang Xi.

Not long ago, Zhang Changzong's younger brother Zhang Changyi ordered Luoyang, and the person who begged him to do things, as long as he sent enough money, there was no one who would not agree.

Once, an official surnamed Xue stopped Zhang Changyi's mount with fifty taels of gold and a document demanding his position, and wanted to bribe him.

Zhang Changyi accepted the gold and handed the paperwork to Zhang Xi, the heavenly official.

A few days later, Zhang Xi accidentally lost the paperwork, so he asked Zhang Changyi: "What is the name of the person you promoted me to?" ”

Zhang Changyi scratched his head and said, "I can't remember, but we have collected money from others, so we can't afford not to do something, right?" Wouldn't that smash the signboard? In this way, you look at how many Jing officials surnamed Xue are waiting to be promoted, and everyone will give them a promotion, that is. ”

Zhang Xi later checked, and there were more than 60 Beijing officials surnamed Xue, and they were all promoted by one level.

In the end, this matter was not hidden, and everyone in the government and the opposition knew about it, and Zhang Xi's reputation plummeted. However, Zhang Changzong did appreciate Zhang Xi very much because of this incident and relied on him as a confidant.

Now Prime Minister Li Qiao is frail and sickly, and he is constantly begging for bones. Zhang Changzong was ready to let Zhang Xi be the prime minister, and Li Qiao retired as the Chengjun priest.

After Cui Geng heard this, he pretended to be in admiration and said, "Then the lower official works for Zhang Changshi, isn't it expected that he will also be promoted to the post of prime minister in the future?" ”

"That's nature." Zhang Changzong said: "Don't look at the surface, this official has dealt with Wei Yuanzhong to tie his hands and feet, but in fact, there is a lot of hidden truth here. If it weren't for an accident, Wei Yuanzhong would have been finished long ago! ”

"Huh?"

Cui Geng is an undercover agent, why did he come here? Isn't it Wei Yuanzhong's case? Now, when Zhang Changzong finally talked about the case, he immediately tightened his heart, showed a little doubt, and said, "Accident? What accident? ”

Zhang Changzong drank a glass of wine and said, "At that time, Zhang Shuo had been persuaded by me to accuse Wei Yuanzhong. However, just as he was approaching Tongtian Palace, he met three people: one was Song Jing, the old enemy of the official, the other was Zhang Ting, the palace servant, and the other was Zuo Shi Liu's confidant. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Song Jing said: "The name is the most important, the ghosts and gods are difficult to deceive, and the party must not be trapped in the evil to be spared!" If the conviction is lost, there will be many honors. If something happens, knock down and fight, and die with the Son. Efforts for it, Bandai admiration, in this move also! Zhang Ting said: "Chaowen said, you can die at night!" Zuo Shi Liu Zhiji said: "There is no dirty history, and I am tired for my descendants!" "Zhang said that he was fooled by these three people so much that he betrayed his official."

It's Song Jing's handwriting again, and he deserves to be a famous prime minister in history!

Cui Geng praised Song Jing in his heart, but said in his mouth: "This Song Jing is really hateful, the lower officials must find a way to get rid of him and vent his anger for Zhang Changshi." ”

"Song Jing's business is not busy." Zhang Changzong waved his hand and said, "The top priority now is still Wei Yuanzhong's case, I don't know if Cui Ying has any strategies to break the situation?" ”

Cui Geng shook his head and said, "Uh...... In a hurry, there is really no good way. Can you allow the officials to think about it and then report to Zhang Changzhi? ”

Zhang Changzong smiled slightly, and said confidently: "No need. You don't have a good idea...... I have! ”