Chapter 83 Section 83 Zeng Guofan presided over the palace examination on behalf of the emperor

After the papers and list were submitted, Emperor Daoguang quickly approved them, but did not specify the specific date of the palace examination.But Zeng Guofan can finally go back home to rest. After Zeng Guofan had a hasty dinner, he asked the cook to boil a pot of hot water.During the few days when he was grading papers in the Ministry of Rites, due to the moisture attack, his ringworm disease broke out, and he needed to take a good soak. After soaking in the basin for a while, his whole body felt much more comfortable, and the fatigue from the past few days also disappeared a lot.Zhou Sheng came in to report that there was a visitor and handed over the film while talking.

Zeng Guofan took the film in his hand, and saw that it was Kuang Luxin, the Chancellor of the fourth-rank mansion of Shuntian Mansion, and there was a line of small characters beside the film: reward the third-rank mansion. Zeng Guofan didn't have much contact with the Manchus, and he couldn't remember who this Kuang was, so he returned the film to Zhou Sheng and said, "Tell Master Kuang, I've already rested, and if you have something to do, meet me in the lobby of the Ministry of Rites tomorrow. Return this to him." .” When Zhou Sheng went out, Zeng Guofan closed his eyes and wanted to sleep in the basin for a while before changing clothes, but Zhou Sheng came back immediately and said, "My lord, Mr. Kuang said that Mr. Wen introduced him, it seems that it is not a business. "

Zeng Guofan thought for a while, then heaved a long sigh and said, "Let Mr. Kuang wait in the living room for me to change. Tell Liu Heng to make a pot of tea for Mr. Kuang. Is Mr. Kuang wearing plain clothes or official uniform?" Zhou Sheng agreed with "casual clothes" and walked out; Zeng Guofan began to change here. When Zeng Guofan walked into the living room in casual clothes, a burly man stood up hastily.Zeng Guofan knew that this person must be Kuang Luxin. Kuang Luxin took a step forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, Kuang Luxin, has met Mr. Zeng. I hope Mr. Kuang will forgive me for coming so abruptly." Zeng Guofan gave a symbolic support and said, "Mr. Kuang, don't do this! I don't know what time Mr. Kuang What can you learn from coming to the humble house?"

Kuang Luxin returned to his seat and said: "This time the official came, there are two meanings, one is to thank my teacher for promotion for my younger brother, and the other is to bother my lord with a small matter." Zeng Guofan was taken aback, and asked, "Which one is your younger brother?" Kuang Luxin said: "Master Kuang Lutong is the thirty-eighth Wen Jinshi selected this time." Zeng Guofan thought for a while, and said: "Master Kuang is serious! The literary and martial arts exams that have been selected have not yet been tested, and this department hall cannot be regarded as Kuang Lutong's teacher. What is the other thing about Master Kuang?"

Kuang Luxin said: "I want to beg your lord to recommend my brother-in-law to the Imperial Academy." When Zeng Guofan heard this, he suddenly laughed: "Lord Kuang, you really know how to joke! The future of a new scholar is in the hands of the emperor. Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there has been no news of a new scholar who was recommended by the president to enter the Imperial Academy." Yes. Mr. Kuang has been in the capital for a long time, why are you confused?" Kuang Luxin stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "As a child of the clan, how can I not know the official system of the Qing Dynasty? But my lord, it is possible if the Lord Long Live allows you to handle this matter according to your discretion?"

Zeng Guofan said without thinking, "Lord Kuang, for this selection of scholars, there are thirty-three Wen Jinshi officially admitted and five candidates. If they don't pass the palace examination, what will happen to these five candidates? It just happened to be among the candidates, the last one." Kuang Luxin replied: "Your Excellency, you don't have to worry. The five candidates will be given birth according to the usual practice." Kuang Luxin knew that Zeng Guofan himself was a fellow Jinshi, so he deliberately avoided the words "Tong Jinshi" in his answer.

But Zeng Guofan still blushed, and hurriedly lowered his head and took a sip of tea, which was a conscious intention to see off the guests.Kuang Luxin stood up, took out a large envelope from his sleeve, and handed it to Zeng Guofan, "This is a small gift from my younger brother to the next official to pass on to the lord, I hope the lord will make it happen." Zeng Guofan pushed the envelope and said: "The people in this hall believe that Mr. Kuang has also heard about it. If Mr. Kuang wants this hall to get rid of your younger brother's fame and future, just put down the envelope, and our hall will directly submit it to the emperor tomorrow morning. Liu Heng Ah, send Mr. Kuang to the sedan chair!"

Kuang Luxin hastily tucked the bag into his sleeves, and while saying "excuse me", he exited the living room with shame on his face. In the early morning of the next day, Emperor Daoguang still did not show up, but the eunuch who announced the decree read out an imperial decree.The imperial edict said: "All new candidates for Jinshi are given the same background as Jinshi. Zeng Guofan, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites and the right servant of the Ministry of War, will be evaluated and recommended one by one in the lobby of the Ministry of Rites according to the merits of the new science Jinshi. Check the recommended halls one by one, and finally I will inspect them. This is yours." The two groups of civil and military ministers were stunned for a long time before slowly withdrawing.

Zeng Guofan went to the lobby of the Ministry of Rites to meet the Xinke Wen Jinshi after he retired from the court, while Wen Qing and Qi Yuzao went to the lobby of the Ministry of War to meet the Xinke Wu Jinshi. Zeng Guofan came to the lobby of the Ministry of Rites.Guiliang, the co-organizer of the university and the minister of the Ministry of Rites, is asking for leave to return to Fengtianfu to visit his relatives. Man Shilang of the Ministry of Rites and Jing Ai, a cabinet bachelor, have led the new division Jinshi to wait for the president in the lobby.This is something that has never happened since the founding of the Qing Dynasty.

The hearts of Jinshi were empty, and the officials couldn't hold up their energy because they couldn't see the grand meeting of Chuanlu.The Ceremony of Passing on the Enthusiasm of Xinke Jinshi in the Qing Dynasty is extremely grand and enthusiastic, because it is presided over by the current emperor. Not only must the whip be fired and music played outside the Hall of Preservation, but also a feast of grace and honor for Xinke Jinshi will be given to all Xinke Jinshi in the Ministry of Rites. Undergraduate presidents, fellow examiners, etc., will have to be lively for more than a month.

The imperial examinations are held after the transfer, and new Jinshi are allocated according to their merits and demerits.The first in the court examination is called Chaoyuan, which is the first in Yijia.After the imperial examinations are completed, official positions are awarded. Generally, the top five are awarded to the Shuji scholars of the Imperial Academy, and the rest, except for a part of the masters and Zhongshu, are sent to other provinces as county magistrates. Of course, all of them are vacancies. An alternate for the tiger class that is filled. What Zeng Guofan is currently presiding over is actually the imperial examination, and the palace examination and the ceremony of passing on the coffin are waived. Zeng Guofan wrote the question on the spot, which was a policy theory limited to 300 words, and it was stipulated that two minutes should be collected.This is different from the stereotyped essay, but it can be seen from it whether the minds of the new scholars are quick. The test questions were presented to the palace by Jingai, the Minister of Rites of the Cabinet Bachelor's Office, and they were soon allowed to be sent back. Next to Xinke Jinshi are supervisors from the Ministry of Rites. The morning exam begins.Two quarters later, the papers were collected and handed over to the cabinet bachelors and Imperial Academy scholars to read, list the first, second, and third grades, and then summarize them in Zeng Guofan's hands.If there is no doubt, Zeng Guofan will announce the result in court.As for the selection of museums, Zeng Guofan circled the Shujishi, principals, Zhongshu, and county magistrates of the Imperial Academy according to their rankings, and then submitted them to the palace. After the emperor approved them, they would publish them on the list. As a result, it was quickly judged that Chaoyuan was actually won by Kuang Lutong, who was born as a Jinshi.Zeng Guofan was a little skeptical, so he read the thirty-eight examination papers one by one, and Kuang Lutong really wrote well. From this day on, Zeng Guofan had some doubts about stereotyped writing. It seems that it is indeed a bit biased to select scholars based on stereotypes alone!This idea is only a flash and will always be in my heart. Soon, Zeng Guofan circled the Shujishi, the principal, the secretary, and the county magistrate according to the usual practice.After the exam, the Shinke Scholars were sent out of the exam room by the officials of the Ministry of Rites, and went to congratulate each other.Although Kuang Lutong was a Jinshi candidate, he was designated by Zeng Guofan as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy because he was in the Yuan Dynasty. Whether he is allowed or not is naturally a matter for the emperor. That night, all civil and military Jinshi gathered together and set up a banquet in the academy of Shuntianfu, and called a big show, entertaining Zeng Guofan, Wen Qing, and all officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War.There is a famous hall here, called "Appreciation Banquet", which is a rule set by the royal family.Zeng Guofan had no choice but to sit there for a while symbolically, then resigned and went back home. The night in the capital at the end of the year came relatively early, and the guards in front of the sedan chair had already prepared lanterns early, and the Jinshi had been watching Zeng Guofan get on the sedan chair before turning back to the bustle. When they arrived at the gate of the mansion, Liu Heng, who was guarding the sedan chair, took a step forward and was about to ask Zhou Sheng to open the door, but suddenly a person jumped out from the shadow beside the door.As soon as Liu Heng missed, the man knelt in front of Zeng Guofan's sedan chair, holding a piece of yellow paper with both hands, shouting "wronged".The sedan chair had to stop. Zhou Sheng ran out from the door at this time, saying "Master has returned to the house", and rushed to pull the person kneeling in front of the sedan chair, cursing: "I really can't tell, if there is a grievance, don't you?" Go to the gate of the yamen and shout, just mess around in the private house. If someone else sends you to the government, it will be more wrongful than wrongful!" The man Ren Zhousheng said nonsense, just hit the ground and refused to get up. , nor give way. Liu Heng and Li Bao also gathered together, saying "Let's go while my master is not getting out of the sedan chair", and also helped Zhou Sheng pull that man away. But the strikes of a few people are very light, not as fierce as the servants of other mansions.This one is because they are all from the background of coolies, and they have long cherished the idea of ​​sympathy, and the second is because Zeng Guofan has set rules for his subordinates long ago. The old fist is allowed to be used, and those who violate it will be resolutely dismissed. Seeing that the noise was getting worse and worse, Zeng Guofan had no choice but to get off the sedan chair and look at the person who called for injustice through the lantern.The man was about sixty years old, with a thick beard hanging unkempt on his chin, and his white hair seemed to have not been combed for a year.The short jacket was already terribly dirty, and the hand holding the paper was dry and wrinkled, like dead bamboo that hadn't been cut for decades by the lotus leaf pond. Looking at it, Zeng Guofan suddenly felt sore, and suddenly thought of Uncle Nan Wu. How similar these hands are to Uncle Nan's! Zeng Guofan took a step forward, paused, and said, "Old man, you have been wronged all the time. You should go to the yamen of the Ministry of Criminal Justice to complain! This is a private house, not a place to settle cases!" Zhou Sheng said: "You heard what my master said. You should go to the Ministry of Criminal Justice tomorrow morning." The old man suddenly burst into tears, and Li Bao, Liu Heng, and Zhou Sheng couldn't stop crying. After a long time, the old man said: "My old man fled all the way from Guangxi with Wan Minzhe, crossed the prefecture and counties, and cried out for injustice all the way to the capital. Not to mention the Ministry of Punishment, I even went to Dali Temple, but they wouldn't let me in! I came here to block the master after being instructed by others. Master, you always show kindness, and don't push me away!" When Li Bao heard this, he suddenly laughed, and said, "Old man, you've been fooled again. My master is in the Ministry of Rites and doesn't care about deciding the case. Besides, you have been wronged so much that you can't settle it in the governor's office in Guangxi. , do we need to go to Beijing? How rich do we have to dare to sue?!" The old man stopped crying, fixed his eyes on Li Bao, and asked, "Isn't this Master Zeng's residence?" Li Bao was taken aback, and replied: "I didn't say no, but Mr. Zeng doesn't care about the case." The old man paused and said: "Brother, you are the one who bluffed me! Master Qu from the Metropolitan Procuratorate told the little old man that only Mr. Zeng can manage this lawsuit. The little old man I have been wandering around the capital for more than forty days, how dare I come if I don’t know the details?” Zeng Guofan smiled slightly and said, "Master Qu is Mr. Quzi Liang Qu that I am talking about? He is too good at flattering me! But I would like to ask, who is this old man suing?" "With whom?" The old man raised his head, "Do you still have to go to the capital with people from our village? The little old man is suing Zheng Zuchen, the governor of Guangxi!" Zeng Guofan was taken aback, and was about to ask back, when he saw a pair of red lanterns hurriedly approaching, followed by four people in tweeds carrying a big sedan chair.The sedan chair stopped abruptly when it reached the gate of the mansion, and the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted, and Eunuch Cao, the chief internal officer, stepped down in one step. When Eunuch Cao saw Zeng Guofan, he opened his mouth and said, "Master Zeng, the emperor ordered you to come and see him immediately." Zeng Guofan saw that Eunuch Cao was in a hurry, and knew that he was in a hurry, so he hurried into the sedan chair, took Li Bao and Liu Heng, and followed Eunuch Cao then go. When he got off the sedan chair at the gate of the palace, Eunuch Cao whispered: "Long live Lord is not doing well tonight. Let the princes in Beijing and the ministers of various ministries and courts come into the palace to have something to say. The servants have already notified separately. It's time to arrive. Mr. Zeng, you are always prepared." Zeng Guofan's heart sank, and he quickened his pace.