Chapter 163 162 Jiangxi Guild Hall

"May I ask, did you ever save my great brother?"

After saying hello and seeing the other person nodding and looking blank, Wei Guangde knew that the other person might not remember him.

It's not that he has a good memory. No matter how good his memory is, Wei Guangde can't remember everyone he meets. The main reason is because this is the first scholar Wei Guangde has seen, and he is Zeng Yuanshu's brother. The two of them still look a little bit different. They look alike, so they can recognize people with their eyes.

"My dear, Pengze Wei Guangde, I saw you when Brother Zeng returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors and Brother Yuanshu served as host."

Wei Guangde could only introduce himself, maybe say a few more words, and give a little hint, and the other party would remember it.

"Wei Guangde, I remember that we met at the riverside restaurant."

After Wei Guangde's reminder, Zeng Xingwu was now a master, and he really knew the young master in front of him.

Looking at what Wei Guangde was wearing, he was wearing a student uniform, and it was obvious that he was already a man of great fame.

"Guangde came to Beijing for next year's examination?"

After all, Wei Guangde looked young. Although he had some guesses in his heart, Zeng Xingwu just asked tentatively.

Back then, when I was admitted as a scholar, this little kid was not even a child.

Fast forward a few years, he was wearing these clothes and in this place, and some things were already obvious.

"I passed the provincial examination by luck, so I came to the capital to try my luck."

Wei Guangde still said modestly, this is also a common problem among literati in this era.

Of course, there are also arrogant ones, but that's not Wei Guangde.

"Oh, I didn't expect that."

Zeng Shengwu told the truth at this time and was very surprised. He never imagined that the elementary school boy would actually take the imperial examination with him one day.

Although he had made some guesses before, in his heart, he was more willing to believe that this was the city of Beijing that he came to with his elders.

Zeng Xingwu's reading ability is already outstanding in the Zeng family. Now, his father is also studying and even taking the imperial examination, but he is just a scholar and has not even passed the imperial examination.

The provincial examination in Jiangxi is no weaker than that in Huguang.

In fact, in this era, the most difficult rural examinations were in Southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Huguang and Zhejiang. This was the death group of the rural examinations in the Ming Dynasty.

"Come on, come on, let's find a restaurant and let's have a drink. I haven't seen you in many years. You are really good. It's only been five years and you've already gone to the capital to participate in the examination."

Zeng Xingwu met an old friend, and he was an old acquaintance. He had met him several times in Pengze, especially when Wei Guangde copied eight-legged essays and frequently went to Zeng's house.

Zeng Shengwu was very happy and took Wei Guangde out to find a place to drink. Only the owner of the bookstore looked at the two men unhappily, but didn't say anything.

"Tell me, how did you pass the exam all these years, but you are so good? Is this all the way through?"

Indeed, after calculating the time and thinking about Wei Guangde's age, Zeng Shengwu thought that Wei Guangde had only participated in the imperial examination in the past two years and went all the way to the capital.

Now I am sitting in the restaurant, and I have already ordered the food to go with the wine, but the restaurant is still making it and has not served it.

Wei Guangde then recounted his experience in the imperial examinations over the years. It was actually very simple. He started taking the county examination at the age of thirteen and fought all the way until he failed the provincial examination.

After playing for three years and fighting again, they finally reached the capital. Wei Guangde felt that there was nothing to say, it was too simple.

At this time, the food and wine were served. The two clinked glasses and ate a few more mouthfuls of food. Wei Guangde also told Zeng Yuanshu and Zeng Yuanrui about the current imperial examination status that Zeng Shengwu was interested in.

Zeng Yuanshu was already a scholar, but he failed to pass the provincial examination twice. Zeng Yuanrui was still a child and had to continue to compete for the college examination.

What else could Zeng Xingwu say? Many things in this imperial examination are unclear. It does not mean that you will be on the list if you are talented.

After talking about his own path to the imperial examination, Zeng Xingwu naturally also wanted to introduce his situation.

Speaking of which, his path to the imperial examination was somewhat similar to that of Wei Guangde. After he was admitted as a scholar, he took the provincial examination twice before successfully passing the imperial examination and coming to the capital to participate in the joint examination.

It's just that this point is the same. He had taken the boy's exam twice before, but Wei Guangde was not like this. He passed all the boy's exams in one go and only faltered during the provincial exam.

"Your examination experience is similar to that of my mentor. He also passed the boy's examination in one attempt, then failed in the provincial examination, and then successfully passed the second provincial examination."

Zeng Shengwu toasted and Wei Guangde walked away before he said anything.

"Your teacher, I don't know who the senior is."

Wei Guangde said very politely, "It's great for people from Huguang to be able to teach people to succeed."

Recalling that when he won the exam and returned to Jiujiang with a large group of people, and disembarked at Bengshan Fort on the way, and followed his father to worship his ancestors, Wei Guangde stopped by to see Master Sun.

Master Sun was so happy and dancing when he found out that Wei Guangde had passed the examination. After all, he was Wei Guangde's tutor, and Wei Guangde had not found a Confucian teacher to teach him. Speaking of which, except for Wei Guangde's examiner teacher, Master Sun was Wei Guangde's only teacher. Not excited?

During the dinner, Master Sun was drunk and still crying and laughing.

For an old scholar who has been taking the exam for decades, he failed to pass the exam and put his mind on the students, which finally paid off.

Of course, Wei Guangde didn't believe that Zeng Xingwu's teacher would be like him. He was probably a highly respected Confucian scholar in Huguang.

"It sounds very similar to you. My mentor is also a military man. Mr. Taiyue Wei of Jingzhou is an editor of the Hanlin Academy."

Zeng Shengwu said with a smile.

"Mr. Taiyue, editor of the Hanlin Academy."

Well, the name of Mr. Taiyue sounds very impressive, but it seems that the title of editor of the Hanlin Academy is even more impressive.

Although the editor is only a seventh-rank official, he is not a small official like a county magistrate, but he is very impressive.

As for how impressive it is, it lies in the three words "Hanlin Academy" in front.

The Hanlin Academy is a government office with low incomes, and it does support the top group of people in the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty.

According to the rules, the top three people in the palace examination are directly granted the positions of editors to editors in the Hanlin Academy, while the rest of the Jinshi will participate in the imperial examination, and the excellent ones will enter the Hanlin Academy as Shujishi.

Shujishi is just a position, not an official.

Shujishi will be dismissed after three years, and at this time there will be another dismissal examination, and Shujishi will be granted official positions. The excellent ones will stay in the Hanlin Academy and be granted official positions such as editors and reviewers, while the eliminated ones will be transferred to the ministries or go down to the local areas to serve as officials.

Why are they all willing to compete for the positions of the government offices with clean water? We have to talk about the old saying, "Only Jinshi can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin can enter the cabinet", so there is also the title of "reserve prime minister".

Zeng Xingwu's teacher came from the Hanlin Academy, which means that he is the top scholar of this era.

"Your teacher is really amazing. How did you choose your teacher? The Hanlin Academy is in the capital, and you are in Huguang?"

Wei Guangde immediately felt something was wrong.

"My mentor went back to his hometown in Huguang for recuperation on sick leave a few years ago. I was in Chengtian Prefecture, not far from Jiangling County. At that time, I failed the provincial examination, so I went to ask for advice with a thick face.

Although my mentor said that he would not accept me as a disciple, but only exchanged knowledge with me as an equal, I have always been his mentor."

The Chengtian Prefecture mentioned by Zeng Xingwu was actually called Anlu Prefecture in the past, which is where Emperor Jiajing was born.

It's just that because Emperor Jiajing was taken to Beijing to sit on the throne here, Anlu Prefecture was upgraded to Chengtian Prefecture.

Speaking of which, Zeng Shengwu is actually a fellow villager of Emperor Jiajing.

Well, with an old scholar from the Hanlin Academy guiding him, it would be hard for Zeng Shengwu not to pass the imperial examination.

Wei Guangde thought so in his heart, and asked casually: "Where are you staying in Beijing, brother Zeng?"

"Huguang Guild Hall, how about you?"

"Jiujiang Guild Hall, it is run by the village, and it is more convenient to live there. After all, most of the people living there are from Jiujiang, and it is convenient to bring news or something."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"When did you arrive in Beijing?"

The two drank and chatted, and unknowingly spent an afternoon.

Time went by and it was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, more than 20 candidates from Jiujiang Guild Hall went to Jiangxi Guild Hall for a banquet. Wei Guangde would naturally not fall behind. He also wanted to leave a good impression on Lord Yan, and he would fight for his career.

After all, Wei Guangde is now a juren. Even if he fails the imperial examination, the worst thing he can do is to become an official with the status of a juren. Isn't it just doing business?

Wei Guangde was a time traveler, so he didn't know what other people thought. After he came here, he prepared a way out for himself, such as becoming a village head and a clerk in the banknotes.

Of course, these are no longer useful now.

Originally, Wei Guangde wanted to go to Yan Shifan, the eldest son of Yan, to show his face, but after a month in the capital, Wei Guangde lost the intention to go forward.

He didn't know before that this person's reputation in the capital was not very good, not because of greed, but because this person was the kind of person who didn't care about meat and vegetables, and killed both men and women.

These days, there are many people who have a good relationship with men, but for an official like him, who can't get any beautiful wives and concubines, he actually plays with men for no reason.

Wei Guangde thinks he is not handsome, but he is a military household, and he is more or less different from the scholars around him in temperament, and he looks more masculine.

Wei Guangde is not worried about being favored by Yan Shifan and being taken advantage of by others, but he is worried that Yan Shifan will let him take advantage of his own backdoor.

It's really unbearable.

When they arrived, they bowed to the candidates waiting for the exam in Beijing. Wei Guangde knew some of them, and some of them were his seniors from the previous years. After introducing them, he knew who they were.

After that, candidates from other prefectures and counties came one after another, and soon the huge hall of Jiangxi Guild Hall was filled.

The candidates were almost all there, and then the officials from Jiangxi in Beijing came on stage.

I don’t know whether it was discussed or coordinated by someone, anyway, it started with low-rank officials and gradually rose to high-rank officials.

Officials of the fifth and sixth ranks, and then the third and fourth ranks, these are already big figures in the court. The last to come on stage are naturally Yan Song, the old man Yan, and his son Yan Shifan.

At this time, Yan Shifan is already the Minister of the Ministry of Works. Before, Emperor Jiajing wanted to give him the title of Minister of the Ministry of Processing, but Yan Song declined.

This person is also a peculiar person. He did not take the imperial examination. He was just a Yinsheng, that is, graduated from the Imperial College, and directly mixed into the third-rank high-ranking officials.

Those of his classmates, if they had a good relationship, would naturally rise to the top, while those who had a bad or average relationship would still play in the mud at the grassroots level.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, most of the students who had a little bit of ambition would continue to take the imperial examination after entering the Imperial College, hoping to pass the joint examination and participate in the palace examination to become the emperor's disciples. Although they were not Jinshi in the two lists, they were also Jinshi, at least they had much more room for development in their official career than the students.

But this young cabinet elder happened to enter the officialdom as a student, and then rose rapidly, and now he has become the third in command of the Ministry of Works in name.

Yan Shifan's current official position is the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, with Shangshu and Zuo assistant minister in front of him, but in fact he is already the top leader of the Ministry of Works, controlling the entire Ministry of Works.

Yan Shifan was born chubby, with a short neck due to his fat body. He was completely different from the skinny father next to him. I don’t know if it was because he followed his mother. Anyway, at first glance, it would make people feel that they are not the same. a gene.

After the two people entered the lobby, they naturally became the focus of everyone's attention. Not only the officials who had come before came forward to salute, but also those who were waiting for exams also came forward to salute.

In this situation, even if Wei Guangde wants to do something to make people notice and remember him, it is definitely impossible. He can only pay attention when the banquet starts and toasts, and see if he can find an opportunity to miss him in front of the chief minister. .

However, when the princes in Jiujiang Prefecture came forward to pay their respects, they saw that Wei Guangde was young and the one he least wanted to offend, Mr. Yan Shifan, became a little interested.

It was so noisy before that I couldn't hear them clearly when they announced their names.

"Why is this scholar so young? What is his name?"

Yan Shifan looked at Wei Guangde and asked.

"Greetings, Sir, I am a student from Jiujiang Prefecture, Wei Guangde, who just passed the provincial examination this year."

Wei Guangde saluted Yan Shifan again, and then introduced himself.

"You're not that old."

After hearing Wei Guangde's self-report, Yan Shifan's eyes flashed imperceptibly.

"The student is sixteen this year."

Wei Guangde felt very uncomfortable. His household registration was being checked.

"Father, this candidate is only sixteen, I'm afraid he is not the youngest candidate in this subject."

Attracted by Yan Shifan's words, Yan Song also glanced at Wei Guangde, stroked his beard and said, "Not bad, not bad, a very talented person."

"He is only sixteen years old, not much worse than that Uncle Zhang. He was only sixteen when he came to take the examination."

Yan Song and his son exchanged a few words in a low voice, and Yan Song looked at Wei Guangde with a more kind look.

Without him, he had wanted to win over the young genius they talked about, but in the end he ran away with the master, even though the master was now working for him.

"Why don't you see Hua Ting coming?"

Yan Shifan said again.

"He is on duty at Xiyuan today and can't come."

Yan Song shook his head, and then said to Wei Guangde with all his strength: "Take the examination well, the emperor and the court need young talents to contribute to the country."

After finishing speaking, Yan Song stared at Wei Guangde twice before saying, "Looking at your temperament, you don't want to be a bookworm. What do you do at home?"

"My father, Wei Meng, is currently the governor of Jiujiang Weiwei Town."

When Wei Guangde left Jiujiang Prefecture, the reward documents from the capital had not yet arrived, and it had been a month since the Japanese pirates were exterminated. This shows the low efficiency of the Ming court.

"Jiangmen, not bad, not bad."

In fact, when Yan Song said that he would be a general, he was praising Wei Guangde. The Wei family was worthy of the title of general, it was just a family of low-level military officers.