Chapter 652 651 Joints and Gifts

Wei Guangde entered the Imperial Academy and assisted the second assistant Li Chunfang in presiding over the current imperial examination, but the government would not be temporarily suspended.

The memorial jointly submitted by Gao Yi and Wei Guangde to change the palace for the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince was quickly approved by Emperor Longqing, and the west-facing side hall of the east corridor of Wenhua Hall was chosen.

As Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde worried, in February, Xuanfu and Datong successively sent war reports, and the Altan tribe gathered troops again to provoke border conflicts.

The chief assistant and university scholar Xu Jie of the cabinet had served for another nine years in the first-rank salary, and he declared himself unemployed. Emperor Longqing personally approved his declaration, "You have assisted the late emperor for a long time with loyalty, supported me, and made more and more meritorious deeds.

Now that the nine years have passed again, I am pleased that you are still as reasonable as before. The Ministry of Personnel has proposed that you should be given grace and reported it."

At the same time, the Ministry of Rites also requested that the emperor personally offer sacrifices to the God of Agriculture.

Offering sacrifices to the God of Agriculture is one of the auspicious ceremonies in the Ming Dynasty. It is usually held before the start of farming in spring every year to encourage farming and pray for a good harvest.

The God of Agriculture refers to the god of agriculture who taught people to farm in the legend. It is sometimes referred to as Shennong and sometimes as Houji.

In the first year of Hongwu, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor personally offered sacrifices to the God of Agriculture in February every spring. After the sacrifice, the emperor personally cultivated the fields. This became a custom.

However, this activity was seriously damaged during the Jiajing Dynasty, because the Jiajing Emperor was unwilling to participate in such things that would affect his cultivation, and mostly chose nobles to act on his behalf.

Last year, the emperor passed away, so the Longqing Emperor followed the previous practice and let the Duke of Chengguo Zhu Xizhong act on his behalf.

But this year, it is naturally impossible to continue like this, so Gao Yi hoped that the Longqing Emperor could go in person, and the memorial was still attached with the notes on the ritual of plowing the fields.

So the beginning of the year is the busiest time for the Ministry of Rites. Not to mention the joint examinations and palace examinations held every three years, from the winter solstice, the Ministry of Rites has been preparing activities one after another.

The plan that Wei Guangde had arranged for someone to make was also reported soon after the handover, which was the Spring Festival of Tianshou Mountain.

Every year, the emperor would go on a tour of Tianshou Mountain at the end of February to pay homage to several emperors' tombs, which was called Mid-Autumn Festival by the people.

When the emperor traveled, he would naturally not travel light. Not only would he arrange a large army around him in advance, but also because the time would be delayed for more than ten days, many things had to be carefully planned in advance.

However, these have nothing to do with Wei Guangde now. He and Li Chunfang are now presiding over the order of the examination room and then looking at the examination papers sent by the examiners of each room.

Wei Guangde thought that he could not write a shocking article. What he learned in the future was limited, and he could use very little, but he still had the ability to appreciate.

Regardless of whether Li Chunfang was the champion or not, his knowledge must be very high, otherwise he might be selected to be invited to the Emperor Jiajing for his review.

The two of them had no selfish motives this time, and everything went smoothly with their cooperation in selecting the examination papers.

In fact, as Wei Guangde had heard before, although it was his first time to preside over such an exam, the ranking of the candidates was roughly determined in the first round, and there would only be minor revisions and adjustments in the second and third rounds.

Now, what was in front of him and Li Chunfang were the test papers that were reviewed and pre-selected by the teachers of each room. He and Li Ge Lao had initially drawn up the rankings, which was commonly known as the "draft list".

"Li Ge Lao, do you think we should summon the officials in charge of the Ministry of Rites to come here and compare the black papers?"

This was the last time to fill in the list. Although the draft list was completed, the "red papers" to be admitted and the "black papers" of the candidates had to be "compared". Those with wrong numbers would be discarded.

In fact, the papers that the examiners saw were the transcribed red papers, not the black papers written in the exam.

However, in order to prevent cheating, the red papers and black papers had to be checked before filling in the list.

Li Chunfang raised his hand and waved, signaling the left and right to go down and call people.

Soon, all the officials in the Imperial Examination Hall arrived, and after looking at the draft list and the red scrolls, they all nodded.

"Then bring up all the black scrolls."

Li Chunfang ordered.

Then a clerk came in with a numbered box and placed it in the hall.

"Shan Dai, you will arrange the next thing."

Li Chunfang said to Wei Guangde.

"Yes."

Wei Guangde bowed and took up the draft list, starting from the last one, but he read out the number of the examination room.

Emperor Longqing has appointed 320 candidates for the imperial examination, so the first one is naturally the 320th candidate in the imperial examination.

As the number was read out, the clerk in the corresponding box quickly searched in the box and soon found the corresponding black scroll, and then held the black scroll and brought it to the table in front of Li Chunfang.

The clerk next to him also presented the red scroll. Li Chunfang looked down and nodded. The red scroll and the black scroll were soon transferred to Wei Guangde's desk, and then to other officials.

Behind them, the Censor of the Censorate and the Jinyi Captain just stood casually on one side, but their eyes kept scanning them.

The Censor of the Censorate and the Jinyi Captain were of course not responsible for marking the papers, but they were always supervising them, observing their eyes, words and deeds, etc., and then they would write official documents according to their own judgment.

This feeling made Wei Guangde feel very bad, but this was the rule.

Although, Wei Guangde felt that these rules were not very effective.

The list of more than 300 people was determined one by one and filled in the A list. This was the result of their work for half a month.

Wang Jiaping. Li Changchun. Zhao Zhigao. Huang Fengxiang.

After being busy for most of the day, Wei Guangde finally knew who the "Huiyuan" of this year's exam was, Huang Fengxiang.

After the job was done, everyone was smiling, but it was hard to tell whether it was true or false. At least Wei Guangde was smiling at this time, as if he was very happy because he was selected for the national examination, but in fact, he felt that his smile was a bit fake.

Wei Guangde really didn't expect that in the first joint examination he presided over, not even one person from his hometown was selected.

Yes, Wei Guangde had met all the people from Jiujiang Prefecture who came to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination before and after the Spring Festival, and he also met many candidates from Jiangxi.

He roughly counted them silently. This time, more than 50 Jiangxi candidates were admitted to the joint examination. The results were actually quite good, but none of them were from Jiujiang. I don't know what will happen if this is reported back to my hometown.

In fact, Jiujiang Prefecture can only be said to be average in the Jiangxi imperial examination, far from Nanchang and Jilin. Even the reputation of Jiangxi as a major province in the imperial examination is mainly supported by these two places.

At this time, Wei Guangde realized it belatedly. No wonder it is said that there was a "joint" in the ancient imperial examination. I am afraid it was to prevent the situation he is facing now.

Yes, Wei Guangde was a little regretful at this moment. He didn't ask the candidates from his hometown to leave a connection in advance.

He had no experience. If he had known this situation earlier, he would have made arrangements in advance. At least he had to let someone from his hometown make the list.

Looking at the piles of test papers in the boxes, they were all failed candidates. He couldn't find the papers if he wanted to pick them up, because he didn't have a "connection" before. This was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Even if one person made the list, it would be good.

They were unlucky to meet an inexperienced fellow examiner.

Wei Guangde muttered in his heart.

In fact, in the 44th year of Jiajing, he had the hope of entering the Imperial Academy and participating in that subject of the joint examination, but at that time he was busy flattering Emperor Jiajing and pushed the job out.

Although the result satisfied him and Emperor Jiajing rewarded him for his hard work, he missed an opportunity to gain experience as a chief examiner.

Imperial examination fraud

When he returned to his rest room, Wei Guangde was still thinking about it.

In the past, he only thought that the so-called "examination cheating" was mostly due to money and connections. Now he understands that some examiners have to do some cheating. In fact, what they consider may not be money or other benefits, but just to help their old family and gain some reputation in their hometown.

As for Li Chunfang, you can see from his smile that he must have been prepared, and he is very satisfied.

Li Chunfang presided over the joint examination for the first time after entering the cabinet, but he never missed the opportunity to participate in the past.

This may also be a tacit understanding between the emperor and the ministers.

No wonder they say that they have to participate in the joint examination, because most of the officials who can get this opportunity are people who are in the emperor's heart and have the opportunity to enter the cabinet.

Arranging them to preside over the joint examination is actually the emperor giving benefits in disguise.

It's just that Wei Guangde didn't seize this opportunity due to his lack of experience.

Early in the morning of February 28, there were crowds of people outside the Shuntianfu Gongyuan. Countless candidates from all over the world came here together, all wanting to see the list of joint examinations with their own eyes.

In fact, everyone was in a similar mood. Those who made the list had received the good news in the early morning and knew that they were on the list.

The candidates who failed the exam could come here, so they could naturally face the reality of failure calmly. In addition, they took this trip with the mentality of just in case.

After the results of the joint examination were announced, the burden on Wei Guangde and others' shoulders was also lifted. Although they could not leave the Imperial Examination Hall for the time being, they could also learn about the news outside. After all, he was locked up for more than half a month, and he wanted to know the current situation outside all the time.

The emperor Longqing left Beijing at noon yesterday and went to the spring festival at Tianshou Mountain. Cabinet ministers Xu Jie, Chen Yiqin and others accompanied him. The Minister of Rites Gao Yi and others also went, leaving the Duke of England Zhang Rong and the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Ting to guard the capital.

Li Chunfang came out of the Imperial Examination Hall and naturally stayed in the cabinet, and Wei Guangde would return to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow and temporarily take over the seal of the Ministry of Rites.

Wei Guangde actually expected all this a long time ago. He counted on his fingers and knew that the emperor would leave Beijing in one or two days.

I didn't expect that Altan Khan, who had not found opportunities in Xuanfu for a long time, would still have the courage to come to Xuanfu to provoke, and the key is that he succeeded.

Yes, this time Ma Fang made a big mistake. He neglected his duties, which led to heavy losses of the Ming army in Xuanfu in February.

On February 17, Altan attacked Chaigoubao, Xinzhuang and other places. The garrison Han Shangzhong died in the battle, and the deputy general Tong Deng fought hard and barely escaped.

When Wei Guangde heard the news, his face was hot. What did he say in front of Chen Yiqin at that time?

If a general cannot predict the enemy's moves, it means that he is incompetent and should be dismissed.

He really didn't expect Ma Fang to be negligent. You know, Ma Fang used to be very cautious.

The Ministry of War has not yet made a punishment for this matter. It is estimated that it will wait until after the palace examination and a thorough understanding of the situation in Xuanfu before making a decision.

However, after the defeat, Ma Fang was inevitably punished.

It was already afternoon when Wei Guangde returned home from the Imperial Examination Hall. He took a nice bath and when he came out, he saw his wife Xu Jianglan and someone holding a set of official uniforms.

"My husband, take a look. This is the Feiyu suit that Liu Dayong, the eunuch in the harem of the Imperial Examination Hall, sent to you. It's a good time to try it out to see if it fits you."

Xu Jianglan asked someone to present the official uniforms and helped Wei Guangde put them on.

"How is it?"

It was the first time for Wei Guangde to be treated like this. He put them on and turned around in front of Xu Jianglan.

Although his father had received a Qilin robe as a reward for his contribution in suppressing the Japanese invaders, this was the first time for him to receive one.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not have a yellow jacket as his bestowed robe. The highest-level bestowed robe was a python robe, second only to the dragon robe worn by the emperor.

The python pattern is very similar to the dragon pattern, with the only difference being that the dragon has five claws while the python has four claws. It is only granted to eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department, cabinet ministers, ministers of the Ministry of War, and princes.

Wearing a python robe represents wealth and honor, and it is also necessary to wear a jade belt, and it is divided into two types: sitting python and walking python.

In terms of nobility, sitting python is higher than walking python.

The second-class bestowed robe is the flying fish robe. The prototype of the flying fish is the ray in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". In the late Ming Dynasty, it evolved into a python-shaped flying fish. In terms of image, it has a dragon head with two horns, a fish fin without wings, and retains the characteristics of a curled fish tail.

The flying fish robe is generally awarded to meritorious officials of the second rank or above, the chief attendant of the Imperial Household Supervisor, and the Jinyiwei.

However, not all Jinyiwei are qualified to wear Feiyufu. Only Jinyiwei commanders, emperor's personal lieutenants and the imperial guards, who are the emperor's confidants with great power, are qualified to wear it.

The third-class clothing is the bullfighting clothing. The bullfighting is not an ordinary bull, but the legendary dragon. The bullfighting is like a dragon with horns, a python-shaped fish tail, and two horns curved like bull horns.

Those who can be awarded the bullfighting clothing include officials of the third rank or above, generals who have made contributions to guarding the border, and people who have been specially rewarded. There are also examples of lecturers or celebrity families being awarded the bullfighting clothing, but it is an exception and rare.

The bullfighting was originally a star in the sky, so the recipients thought they had received great honor.

The fourth class is naturally the Qilin clothing that Wei Dad has received. Different from the ordinary image, it has evolved into a dragon head and a deer body, with scales on the body, a lion tail painted on the tail, and a bull hoof-shaped foot.

The Qilin pattern was originally a patch on the official uniforms of dukes, princes, and concubines, but because the Qilin is a legendary beast of benevolence and righteousness, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave the Qilin suit as a gift to meritorious officials of the fourth and fifth ranks. Although the Jinyiwei guards were not high-ranking officials, they were also allowed to wear the Qilin suit because of their special positions.

In fact, these granted suits look similar from a distance. The fighting bull and the Qilin suit are not the image of an animal at all, but more like an animal.

It is said that Emperor Wanli once mistook the Qilin suit for the flying fish suit and almost imprisoned the official who wore the granted suit because he remembered that he had never granted him the flying fish suit and suspected of usurpation.

Fortunately, he called the person over and found out that he had seen it wrong, so he gave up.

Wei Guangde wore the flying fish suit to show off at home for a while, and only changed it after being scolded by his mother and put on his regular clothes.

"What's the matter with this granted suit?"

Wei Guangde is still a little confused and doesn't know when he got this reward.

Wei's mother couldn't explain it clearly, so Xu Jianglan naturally understood it better and explained it in a gentle way.

"Last time, His Majesty rewarded the assistant ministers and the old lecturers, but didn't he promote the master? According to Eunuch Liu, His Majesty remembered this matter after reading the master's resignation and asked the inner court to make up for it."

"So that's how it is."

Wei Guangde nodded. In the previous decree, there was only the gift of clothes to the cabinet ministers. It turned out that His Majesty forgot it at that time. (End of this chapter)