Chapter 239 Wei Yuan Intends to Cultivate Sheng Changbai

When he was in Gongyuan just now, Sanlan was still talking about Wang Anshi, the examiner of this year's imperial examination.

Now that Minglan has seen her at her uncle's house, how can she not be surprised?

After hearing what the other party and his uncle said, he wished he had to grow ears.

Is this something a woman like me can listen to?

Even if his father is here, he wouldn't dare, right?

Once the scientific examination questions are leaked, to put it seriously, all three tribes of barbarians can be exposed!

However, my uncle and Wang Shangshu told the matter as a joke?

Minglan really didn't understand the thinking of big people like them.

After lunch, Zhang Guifen and Minglan came to a pavilion to do tea drama.

Minglan expressed the confusion in her heart, "Imperial examination questions are never allowed to be leaked. If my uncle asks such a blatant question, won't it cause trouble?"

Zhang Guifen smiled and said: "Didn't that Wang Shangshu not say anything? It doesn't matter."

Minglan said: "But what should I do if Wang Shangshu reports what my uncle said today to the Ming officials?"

Zhang Guifen thought for a while, shook her head and said, "That Wang Shangshu has a good relationship with your uncle. They often talk about current affairs, so it shouldn't be the case."

Minglan said subconsciously: "Although I don't understand that, I also know that even friends will have conflicts. If in the future."

Zhang Guifen frowned, "It's impossible for your uncle to not have thought of this. Let's not get involved in the discussion about what happened between them. I heard that your two brothers also participated in the imperial examination. Are they sure?"

Minglan put down the tea set in her hand, put her hands on her chin and said, "There is no guarantee of success in the imperial examination. I heard that Brother Chang will return to his hometown to take the provincial examination soon, and I don't know whether Brother Chang can do well in the examination."

Zhang Guifen covered her mouth and smiled, "My two brothers don't care, but they care about your cousin."

Minglan said: "You also said that it was not your idea for Brother Chang to return to his hometown to take the provincial examination?"

Zhang Guifen said: "There are so many evildoers in the Imperial College. If you are in the Imperial College to invigilate the examination, you may not get a good ranking even if you pass the exam. If Brother Chang becomes an official in the court in the future, even the simplest provincial examination ranking will have to be considered."

Based on the knowledge that Brother Chang has learned in the Imperial College, he will definitely get a good rank in the provincial examination when he returns to his hometown.

Generally speaking, if ordinary scholars want to study in the Imperial College, they must have merit and reputation, such as Gongsheng students and so on.

In addition, some children of ethnic minorities can also come, and those with family backgrounds, such as Chang Geer, who is Wei Yuan's nephew, can study in the Imperial College.

People like Chang Geer, who entered the Imperial Academy through family connections or hereditary titles, still had to take the imperial examination if they wanted to develop better.

Minglan glanced at Zhang Guifen and said with admiration: "How come aunt knows so much?"

The latter rolled his eyes at her, looking a little charming, "If you had lived in the capital since childhood, you would know better."

Minglan kept holding her chin with her hands, staring at Zhang Guifen with a smile.

The latter felt a little uncomfortable after being stared at by her. He pinched her nose affectionately and said, "Is there a flower on my face?"

Minglan giggled and said, "Auntie is prettier than flowers."

Zhang Guifen smiled knowingly, "Your mouth is as sweet as honey."

Minglan said: "Since my aunt got married, I feel that my aunt has become more and more different, especially now that she is pregnant. Your smile makes me, my niece, a little bit elated."

As soon as these words came out, the maids around him, such as Baozhu and others, couldn't help but laugh.

Zhang Guifen glared at them first, so that they didn't dare to laugh anymore, and then looked at Minglan sternly, "You girl, have you offended someone? Why do you say so many nice things today?"

Minglan said: "With my uncle and aunt here, who in the whole Bianjing would provoke me? I never take the initiative to provoke others."

Zhang Guifen nodded, "That's true."

Minglan looked at Zhang Guifen's belly with a smile and asked, "Have you thought of the child's name yet?"

Zhang Guifen said: "No, your uncle has been staring at Yanbian these days, so he has no time to think about this."

Minglan asked curiously: "Is there really going to be a war? A few years ago, in the battle of Daizhou, many people died. It is said that many officials and officials did not have enough to eat."

"Now people outside are spreading rumors that my uncle is eager to go to war with Xixia because he wants to achieve success."

Hearing this, Zhang Guifen frowned and said angrily: "Nonsense!"

"If it weren't for your uncle, Yanmen would have been lost long ago, and there's no telling how many people would have died."

"Who wants to start a war when we can live in peace? They don't understand, so don't talk about it."

"Besides, does your uncle still lack achievements now? Even I, a Taoist woman, know that Xixia sells armor to the Liao Kingdom. Sooner or later, it will be a threat to our Zhou Dynasty!"

Minglan said: "Auntie, don't be angry, I just said it casually."

Zhang Guifen sighed: "I have also heard a lot of rumors from the outside world in the past few days, saying that your uncle is afraid that the world will not be chaotic. They don't know that they can talk about these things without restraint today and who is protecting them."

Minglan said: "Most people say that sending troops to Xixia this time is a good time to show off the prestige of the Zhou Dynasty."

Zhang Guifen touched her belly and murmured: "The person who least wants a war now is not them, but me."

——

The next day, the second examination will be held as usual.

Today, Wei Yuan and the examiner Wang Anshi and others reviewed the first paper and tentatively determined the ranking.

In order to prevent candidates from knowing who wrote the answer sheet, which could lead to suspicion of fraud, the answer sheet does not have a signature, only a ranking number.

Every year, the examiners for the annual general examination are cross-checked by bachelors from the Hanlin Academy, Mr. Taixue, and doctors from the Imperial College, as well as officials from the Ministry of Rites, and are finally handed over to the chief examiner for review.

The first paper of this year's examination was reviewed by Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi together.

There are two rooms in the Gongyuan. Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi are staying in one, quietly waiting for the other examiners in the other room to hand over some better essay answer sheets.

During this period, Wei Yuan asked curiously: "I heard that Wang Shangshu was supposed to be the number one scholar, but because of a few words, he was ranked fourth in the first class by the officials?"

"The examiner at that time was Uncle Ouyang Yong. Now, does Wang Shangshu have a grudge against Mr. Ouyang?"

Wang Anshi glanced at him, took a sip of tea carelessly, and said, "I just missed the chance to become the number one scholar. Did it delay my work for the country?"

Wei Yuan said: "Does Mr. Wang know that two of my nephews also participated in the examination?"

Wang Anshi said: "It's not like I'm a nephew. Besides, the rankings set in the first volume will be re-ranked at the end of the examination on the third day."

"Can you tell which article was written by your nephew?"

Wei Yuan smiled and did not respond.

Sheng Hong's visit last night came to mind.

Not only did he come, he also brought articles written by Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng, and said with a smile:

"Brother Yuan, I heard that you are good at writing articles. Now these two children are participating in the examination. Please help Brother Yu take a look at the articles they wrote before. Are there any flaws? I will go back later so that I can teach them."

Is Sheng Hong's purpose to let Wei Yuan read the article?

The main thing is to look at the characters of the two Sheng brothers!

As long as Wei Yuan can memorize their words accurately, the ranking of the first volume will be a sure thing.

As for why Sheng Hong knew that Wei Yuan would participate in the review of the first paper of the examination, it was not revealed by Minglan, but that many people knew about it from the moment Wang Anshi came to the Hou Mansion.

The officials have already agreed on this matter. Although there is no clear purpose, it is not difficult to find out through some contacts.

After all, as the chief examiner of the general examination, he went to the Zhongyong Hou Mansion on the first day. This is too suspicious.

At that time, Wei Yuan asked Sheng Hong to put the article aside and said that he would read it when he had time.

Sheng Hong expressed his gratitude and planned to give him some belongings. After all, this was the only thing the Sheng family could give him.

At the same time, he also made it clear to Wei Yuan that from now on, the Sheng family would follow the lead of the Zhongyong Hou Mansion.

But to be honest, does Wei Yuan care about this?

What he cares about is Sheng Changbai's talent.

After Sheng Hong returned home, he was taught a lesson by Sheng Changbai because of this incident.

"Everyone knows that Wang Shangshu, the chief examiner of the general examination, went to the Hou Mansion to find Uncle Wei. If you go at this time, even if the child's answers are correct, what should Uncle Wei do to avoid suspicion?"

"Furthermore, even if Uncle Wei is willing to help, he still has to answer the question on the first day. If he wants to get a good ranking in the examination, he still needs to see what happens in the future."

"If you do this, won't it embarrass Uncle Wei's family?"

Candidates who originally participated in the examination must stay in Gongyuan to rest.

But because Sheng Changbai and others live in the capital, and the exam questions were Wang Anshi's last-minute thoughts, that is to say, when Wang Anshi came to find Wei Yuan, even he didn't know what the exam questions would be the next day.

Therefore, in a situation like Sheng Changbai's, Gongyuan was not too harsh. After they finished the exam and wanted to go home to rest, they were allowed to go home.

Just don't delay the exam on the second day.

Sheng Hong lowered his voice and said, "Don't scream!"

"Aren't you doing this for your father and for you and Chang Feng?"

"Do you know who Wang Anshi is? He is famous for being strict!"

"Now that we have this opportunity and connections, why not give it a try?"

Sheng Changbai said: "Father, you are wrong, very wrong!"

"First, how could uncle Wei not know how you treated Miss Wei before he became rich? Now uncle Wei has taken great care of our Sheng family. Otherwise, why would the officials in the capital sell you three-cent noodles? ? "Do you really have face?"

"Secondly, Uncle Wei has been extremely kind to our Sheng family. When will our Sheng family repay us? Have you ever thought about how to repay this debt of gratitude in the future?"

"Thirdly, the imperial examination is for the purpose of selecting talents for the country, and everyone should rely on their abilities. You are a father, how can you set this precedent for your children? If our Sheng family has a quarrel with uncle Wei in the future, uncle Wei will use this matter to coerce me. Sheng family, how can the child still have a future? "

"Even if Uncle Wei's character cannot do such a thing, how can the child's heart be at peace? You are not helping the child. If our Sheng family really wants to gain a foothold in the capital, heresy is of no use!"

"Why doesn't my father understand such a simple and easy-to-understand truth?"

This was the first time Sheng Changbai spoke so frankly about his father.

On weekdays, even if his father is bad in many ways, he is still his father.

Today, he really couldn't bear it anymore.

After Sheng Hong heard so much, he felt very ashamed, so he said nothing and became silent.

After a while, Sheng Hong felt really embarrassed. After all, being spoken to like this by his own son, he couldn't save his face, so he waved his hand and said:

"You should rest early, you have to enter the venue tomorrow."

Later, when Minglan found out about this, she specifically told her grandmother, Mrs. Sheng, hoping that the old lady could give Sheng Hong a few words of advice so that he would not cause trouble for her uncle.

Old Mrs. Sheng said: "What kind of person is your uncle? How could you not know the consequences of your father going to find him? Your uncle always says something, why didn't he reprimand your father?"

Minglan was confused, "Grandma, do you know?"

Mrs. Sheng smiled and said, "I guess your uncle already knows what to do and has thought through some of the consequences."

"I'm afraid your uncle also wants to help your second brother. After all, the relationship between our Sheng family and the Zhongyong Hou Mansion has been known to many people because of your mother and daughter. From now on, when others talk about the Sheng family, they will only say that they are dependent. In the Zhongyonghou Mansion."

"Your uncle knows in his heart that your father cannot help your uncle. In the future, perhaps your second brother will be the only one who can help the Hou Mansion. Therefore, your uncle wants to cultivate your second brother."

Minglan said: "Second brother is upright. What if you don't want your uncle to cultivate him like that?"

Mrs. Sheng said: "You don't understand the things in the court."

"Sometimes, it's not about whether a person wants it or not, but it depends on what others think."

"From now on, your second brother's career can only be tied to that of your uncle."

Minglan was confused by what she said and couldn't quite understand it, but she didn't dare to ask in detail, so she nodded dully.

If Wei Yuan heard what Mrs. Sheng said, he would at most just smile awkwardly.

He placed his bet on Sheng Changbai, not because he felt that Sheng Changbai had any amazing talent, but because of the words in "Do You Know" that judged Sheng Changbai's life:

[Entered the imperial court four times, paid homage to the prime minister three times, served in six ministries and thirteen provinces, and has disciples and former officials all over the world.]

This gold content is comparable to Han Zhang.

From this, we can also judge that Sheng Changbai is a man of great wisdom. Supporting such a person, as long as he is used properly, can only benefit the Wei family and bring no harm.

At this moment, in the tribute courtyard.

Some examiners handed the reviewed answer sheets to Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi.

Afterwards, the two began to cross-check to determine the ranking.

Sheng Changbai often wrote New Year greeting notes for Wei Yuan during the Chinese New Year, so Wei Yuan knew Sheng Changbai's handwriting very well.

After reading several answer sheets in succession, I didn't see Sheng Changbai's font. I couldn't help but frown slightly. Could it be that he was brushed off by the examiners outside?

With Sheng Changbai's skills, he wouldn't be kicked out of the first round, right?

"This person said that we should engage in distant relations and close attacks against Liao and Xia. If we really follow his method, it will take years of monkeys and horses to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun. Moreover, he dared to exaggerate after reading a few articles on the Warring States policy. It is exaggerated and embarrassing."

"This article is well written. We should adopt a strategy of encroaching on the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and gradually recover them over several generations. However, the results are too slow. We will leave them here for now and discuss them later."

"Wang Shangshu, if you read this article, you strongly agree with Fan Wenzhenggong and Di Qing's method, which is to attack steadily and consolidate defenses while invading the Liao and Xia countries. This method is acceptable for Xixia, but it is somewhat taken for granted by Liao. ”

"."

Which candidate can make it this far without some ink in his stomach?

Wei Yuan can give a more pertinent judgment, which is much better than the examiner outside the two people's room.

Wang Anshi also saw several good answer sheets and handed them to Wei Yuan.

"I am fairly familiar with the situation in Xixia, but I only have a partial understanding of the Liao Kingdom."

"These guys are pretty good at writing articles about Liao and solving problems well. Take a look."

Wei Yuan took it and looked at it in detail until he saw the answer sheet written by the third person. When he saw the font on it, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said bluntly:

"This article should be number one."

First?

Wang Anshi took it over and looked at it, frowning and said: "It's quite satisfactory, and the problem solving is not bad. Starting from the three kingdoms of Wei, Han and Wu, it will deeply analyze the pros and cons between our country, Zhou Dynasty and Liao Xia."

"In order to accumulate national strength and join forces with Xia to attack Liao, ranking this answer first is somewhat unjustifiable no matter what."

Wei Yuan smiled and said: "Of those candidates who participated in the examination, how many came from the border? How many of them have personally been on the battlefield and understand the strength of Liao and Xia?"

"Just like the article I just mentioned, it gradually encroached on the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and also said that it is not appropriate to take the initiative to fight outside the border and not focus on defense. The ideas are all very good, but doesn't Wang Shangshu think that they are all just words on paper? "

"If it's really as easy as they say, why did His Majesty Emperor Taizong return with such a disastrous defeat during his personal expedition?"

"It is a good thing to be sharp and enterprising and want to show off, but it is also more likely to make mistakes. On the other hand, the articles written by this person are full of stability. If he really uses his method to target Liaoxia, even if he cannot regain Yanyun Sixteenth There won’t be much trouble in the state.”

"Isn't a steady scholar who has never been on the battlefield and dare not talk about war on paper exactly the kind of talent our country needs?"

Hearing this, Wang Anshi stroked his beard and said, "Then as the Marquis said, this person will be ranked first in the first volume."

If this person can still be among the top in the second and third papers, then he will not be among the top ten in the examination.

Why is the ranking of the test important?

The palace examination mainly involves the officials hand-picking the top three candidates.

In addition to the top three, basically, whatever ranking will be tested will be the ranking in the palace examination.

For example, I will try eighth place.

Then after the palace examination is over, this person will most likely be among the top ten.

Unless the articles written in the imperial examination are unpalatable.

As long as you can pass the joint examination and participate in the palace examination, there is no big problem in getting a Jinshi and being from the same background as a Jinshi.

And once you rank higher in the Jinshi list, it is equivalent to having a good start, which can add points to your future political future.

For example, if people like Han Zhang and Wen Yanbo were not in Yijia, would they be able to become prime ministers today? I'm afraid not necessarily.

Now, the examination of papers by Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi can be said to have directly determined the future and destiny of some people.

When the battle of Daizhou ended, Zhao Zhen wanted to grant Wei Yuan the status of a fellow Jinshi, but was rejected by Han Zhang. If Wei Yuan had the status of a fellow Jinshi, he would be more comfortable in the civil service circle today.

And today, Wei Yuan, who was only a scholar, has to nod and comment on future Jinshi and fellow Jinshi, and decide their fate and future.

It has to be said that this is the benefit brought by power.