Chapter 82 Section 82 Breaking the rules to serve as the president of the examination

When Zeng Guofan returned to the mansion, he ate in a hurry and drank a pot of tea after the meal. He suddenly remembered the bundle of pornographic books that Yizhen gave him as a gift, so he hurriedly took them over and opened them carefully, but it turned out to be three volumes, one of which was the other. Two and three are evidence.When I opened one of them, I saw the word "Tingjing" first, which presumably was the title of the book.After playing with it for a long time, I couldn't understand it, so I had to read it page by page, but it turned out that it was about success or failure.It is divided into ten chapters including the main chapter, the very chapter, the family chapter, the country chapter and the monarch chapter.The whole book is about 100,000 words, without author or source.Looking at the paper binding process, Zeng Guofan concluded that it was indeed from the Tang Dynasty or earlier. It is undoubtedly a folk manuscript, and it is also considered a cultural relic.

After skimming through the whole book, Zeng Guofan suddenly burst out laughing: Master Yizhen valued this book too much. There is no shadow of secret books in heavenly scriptures here. It is clearly just a few folklore! One of them told the story of an old man who wanted to invite someone to dinner and sent his son to the city to buy vegetables. After the guests arrived for a long time, the son had not yet returned.The old man was worried, so he went out of Zhuangzi to look for his son. He went all the way to the single-plank bridge, but he saw his son and an old man carrying a burden facing each other in the middle of the bridge without giving way to anyone.

The old man who was looking for his son went over to the old man who carried the burden and said, "Brother, brother, if you want to invite someone to dinner, you just wait for the son's food to be cooked. You let me let my son go, how about it?" The old man carrying the burden replied angrily: "My old man wants to go to the city before dark to sell these two loads of clay figurines and horses. If you tell me to let me go, I have no choice but to jump into the river, but what about my clay horses?" Can you see the water? If you say yes, your son should jump into the river and let me pass. You know, the vegetables on your son's shoulders are not afraid of water."

The old man who was looking for his son sighed helplessly, said three times in a row, "Let's go, let's go", then he walked down the river by himself, took his son's food and carried it on his own, and let his son jump into the water for the old man to let go. make a way. Zeng Guofan laughed before finishing the story.Stories like this, not to mention the capital, but Hunan and Xiangxiang, you can find a lot of them at random, which really ruined the word "Tingjing".Also said that it was passed down by Wei Xiang, isn't this a fool's dream?It's really hard for Yizhen to treasure these three books for most of his life in a daze!

Zeng Guofan put the book on the shelf casually, walked out of the study, burned a few sticks of incense in front of his grandfather's spiritual tablet, and then walked back to the study. After drinking tea for a while, I felt bored, so I took "Tingjing" to read again.This time he read more carefully, and he had to mull over a whole sentence twice before looking down.While reading, he suddenly became strange. He found that the sentences in this book could not only be read forward, but also reversed into sentences. He then tried to read from the last page of the third volume.After reading this, he was not only surprised, but greatly astonished; not only was it full of admonitions, each and every word, but also had profound meanings and was intriguing.There are many words in it that the sages can't say. "Ting Jing" is really a wonderful book!

For several days, Zeng Guofan immersed himself in "Tingjing".The grief of losing a grandfather, the mourning of losing a friend, the ups and downs of one's own official career, the contempt of full-fledged officials, the ostracism and strife among colleagues, and all kinds of displeasure are all diluted by "Tingjing". After a few days, Zeng Guofan became visibly thinner, his cheekbones became prominent, and the edges and corners of his triangular eyes became more distinct.But the mental state has become more and more full. Tang Xuan discussed with Zhou Sheng in private: "What kind of treasure did your lord get, that you are so obsessed with it! Is it because you see through the world and want to practice Zen?"

On this day, Zeng Guofan had just had breakfast when he suddenly received a message from the Ministry of Rites. Zeng Guofan was startled.According to the Qing Dynasty official system, officials are not required to issue communiqués and speeches during their vacations, unless something earth-shattering happens.Could it be... He slowly opened the message, but it turned out that it was the funeral of 74-year-old Ren Zongxiao and Empress Rui Niu Hulu! Zeng Guofan was stunned for a moment and didn't say a word for a long time.He knew that although Empress Xiao and Rui were not the biological mothers of Emperor Daoguang, they had the best relationship; the enthronement oracle of Emperor Daoguang was announced by Empress Xiao and Rui.Now, empress Xiao and Rui died suddenly, and Daoguang was ill at this moment. Can he bear this kind of blow?Although the emperor wished himself a long live, none of them could really live long.Wishes cannot replace reality.

As the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, Zeng Guofan knew that it was the Ministry of Rites who was the busiest and most tired when such a major event occurred in the court. Empress Xiaoherui's funeral had just been completed, and Zeng Guofan received an imperial edict from the right servant of the Ministry of War.He hastily folded into the palace to thank him. Xie Enbi, but Emperor Daoguang asked slowly: "Zeng Guofan, how old are you this year?" Zeng Guofan replied: "Returning to the emperor, I am thirty-nine years old this year." "Hmm." Emperor Daoguang nodded and asked again, "Have you been in Beijing for more than ten years?"

Zeng Guofan replied: "It has been exactly eleven years since I counted from being a good scholar." Emperor Daoguang suddenly let out a long sigh, and said to himself: "In a flash, it has been eleven years!" After speaking, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in his reverie. Zeng Guofan was about to kneel down to beg Sheng'an and then withdraw, but Emperor Daoguang suddenly opened his eyes again and said, "Zeng Guofan, the clan exams of Shun and Feng Erfu are coming soon, and I have decided to let you be the president of the Minister of Literary Examinations." , Wen Qing is the president of the Minister of Martial Arts Examination. The imperial clan examination is related to the lifeblood of my royal family, so you have to do it well with your heart!"

Before Emperor Daoguang finished speaking, Zeng Guofan was already in a cold sweat from fright. After trembling for a long time, he kowtowed and replied: "I thank the emperor for his trust! But I dare not accept the order!" "Why?" Emperor Daoguang asked back. Zeng Guofan bowed his head and replied: "In the words of the emperor, the imperial clan examination is related to the lifeline of the royal family, and it is also related to the lifeline of my Qing Dynasty. In the previous imperial clan examinations, the civil and military presidents were all held by the prince, Baylor or a bachelor. The minister is a servant, and the position is not high. If you don't show it, it will be difficult to take on this great task. Please look into it, Your Majesty!"

After Zeng Guofan said this, he secretly glanced at the emperor, then quickly lowered his head, thinking to himself: "The second-rank servant is the president of the imperial family examination, so it's no wonder he doesn't get beaten up by those arrogant royal children!" Emperor Daoguang thought for a while and said: "Zeng Guofan, I also know the convention, but I know even more that when princes and Baylors serve as presidents, there are too many elements of protection, and when the university scholars come to do this, they don't distinguish between good and bad. All won! I decided to change the rules this year. You just have to do it boldly. Go down, I'm going to take a rest." Zeng Guofan had no choice but to kneel down and withdraw. The next morning, after the imperial court, the imperial decree that Zeng Guofan was appointed as the president of the imperial clan examination and Wen Qing was appointed as the president of the imperial clan examination and military examination was sent down to the various ministries. As soon as they saw the imperial edict, the Han officials all sweated secretly for Zeng Guofan, and Zeng Guofan himself was uneasy for several days. In those few days, the servants saw that Zeng Guofan locked himself in the study as soon as he returned to the mansion. He ate very little and didn't read much. He just sat on the kang most of the night. The servants dare not ask, but it can be concluded that the adults are in trouble, and the trouble is not small! Finally made it to the day of the test. Early in the morning, the sixteen unmasked yellow sedan chairs from Shuntian Mansion to greet the president came to the Ministry of Rites early, and the guard of honor was extremely grand. Not only were warning signs of "avoid" and "quiet" set up, but also gongs were rung to clear the way, and soldiers cleared the streets. It seems that the prince is traveling. Zeng Guofan took only Li Bao and Liu Heng with him, and then boarded the sixteen-carrying sedan chair of Shuntian Mansion, was carried high, and ostentatiously rushed to the colorful shed.Li Bao and Liu Heng were also riding on horseback, following behind the sedan chair with dignity. Countless Manchu and Han people crowded both sides of the street, all wanting to see which prince will be released by the chief executive of this year's clan meeting.When they saw that it was Zeng Guofan, the second-rank servant, the Han people suddenly felt elated, as if they had grown taller all of a sudden.The Manchurians murmured in disbelief: Why are these triangular eyes!Where have all the princes gone? Arriving at the examination hall in front of the examination shed, as soon as Zeng Guofan stepped out of the sedan chair, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture brought all the imperial examiners to pay homage to Zeng Guofan, and Zeng Guofan answered them one by one. The crowd surrounded the CEO and walked into the hall. After sitting down in the hall, Zeng Guofan was about to roll call and divide the errands when a eunuch passing the decree strode in and said, "The decree is here!" Zeng Guofan and everyone hurriedly knelt down to receive the order. The decree said: The cabinet issued an edict: the clan examination is related to the lifeline of the royal family.Zeng Guofan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, is the chief executive of the science and literature examination. The emphasis is on fairness, so as to inspire the royal children to study hard.I know that the servant has always acted fairly, and this time he has lived up to my expectations. It is definitely not my intention to lower the standard.Anyone who dares to make a fuss and provoke the ministers who will be tested, no matter how close they are, I will investigate and deal with it as a whole, and I will never tolerate it!This is it. Zeng Guofan respectfully enshrined the imperial decree in the hall, and only then did he boldly become the chief executive with confidence.The location of the clan martial arts examination of this subject was set at the military and horse review field in Shuntianfu, and a colorful shed was also set up, and a review stand was also set up. The situation was even more lively than the literary examination. There are 216 people from the imperial clan who entered the examination, and they took the examination three times.The first time is the preliminary test. Those who are selected in the preliminary test will enter the re-test, and those who pass the re-test will then take the palace test.The palace examination is presided over by the emperor as usual. It was the first three days of the science and culture examination, and the second three days of the re-examination.Zeng Guofan lived in the Ministry of Rites, and took more than 20 officials to read the papers for another five days, and only then did he get the number of admissions.A total of 38 scholars were recruited, of which 33 were on the top list and five were on the vice list. This was the year when the founding clan of the Qing Dynasty recruited the fewest scholars.Two hundred and fifty-two scholars were selected in the Wuhui, slightly more than last year. Zeng Guofan led people to gather all the papers admitted for the re-examination into one test bag, and made a fair and fair copy of the list of admissions. Wen Qing also wrote down the number of admissions, and submitted them together. These people are Wen and Wu Jinshi.The rest of the so-called palace test is actually just going through the motions.