Chapter 38 Section thirty-eight

On the seventh day of March, the two palaces returned to Beijing. The emperor arrived in the early noon, and the Empress Dowager Cixi arrived in the evening.Weng Tonghe, who stayed in Beijing on business and had to stay overnight in the palace, handed over his errand, and could have gone home to sleep soundly, but he kept sleeping restlessly because he had something to worry about.Knowing that there was no "study room" the next day, he still entered the palace in the middle of the night, intending to send a "mistress", then Xie En went out of the palace and arranged to enter the palace, which could save a lot of trouble.

At dawn, the decree was announced, and the examiners for this year's examination were appointed. The chief executive was Chongqi who was sick and opened a vacancy. Xizhen, who was recently transferred to be the Minister of the Ministry of officials, and three vice presidents: Shizhang Qi, the censor of Zuodu, and Song Song, the servant of the household department. Sun Yuwen, minister of military affairs and military aircraft of the Ministry of Shen and Ministry of Industry. Weng Tonghe thought with all his heart that he would be selected as the chief examiner of this subject, and he also wanted to be the chief examiner of this subject very much, so that he could recruit a group of famous people such as Zhang Jian, Wen Tingshi, Liu Ruozeng, etc. to his school.So when I saw this list, I was at a loss and felt unhappy all day long.

Weng Tonghe was not the only one who was disappointed, but more because he believed in his writing.The so-called "mo essays in the field" roughly refers to the rural examinations. It is not easy to get lucky by gathering the elites of eighteen provinces in the examinations and competing for a day's strengths.Whether the luck is good or bad depends on whether the chief executive has Hengwen's giant eyes?For example, last autumn when the new imperial examination candidates re-examined, Xu Tong, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, proposed a title. The title of the poem for the test post was: "Secret Text of School Management", and the word "secret" was written as "must" next to "clothes", which became a white character. There were more than 200 people in the audience, none of whom knew the source, and they made an appointment to continue writing "Secret".If you encounter such an unreasonable director, even if you have the knowledge of the world, the literary talent of carving dragons and embroidering phoenixes, it is just "pretty eyebrows for the blind to see".

Except for Qi Shichang, none of the chief and vice presidents of this department is well-known, and Qi Shichang is also devoted to Cheng Zhuyi's principles, and his papers are thick and simple, and he does not appreciate talented people.Therefore, after "listening to the announcement", Wen Tingshi became cold at first, and when he returned home, he sat in the study without saying a word, in a daze. "What's going on?" Liang Dingfen's Mrs. Gong asked with concern, "Going out happily, and came back like this." "Oh!" Wen Tingshi sighed, "I'm afraid this subject is over again!"

"No one said such a thing. Before entering the chamber, I broke my spirit first." Mrs. Gong asked: "Is Weng Shangshu the chief examiner?" "no!" "Where's Pan Shangshu?" "No!" Mrs. Gong knew the reason for his unhappiness.In the usual literary and wine gatherings, she also listened to Wen Ting's talk in the same year behind the screen. Last year, Shuntian Township Examination won more scholars because of pity for Pan Zuyin and Weng Tonghe who loved scholars. If there are still two of them, then Lianjie is hopeful.I don't want these two elders who are looked up to by Shilin, none of them has ever entered the house.

She was also worried about Wen Tingshi in her heart, but she couldn't help but say words of encouragement. "Yunge," she raised her face, with the look of an older sister blaming her younger brother, "You can't trust yourself, so how can you let the examiner appreciate you?" "I don't know why?" Wen Tingshi said with a sigh, "This year's gains and losses are particularly haunting, and I am deeply afraid of losing the rank. I am sorry for you." "You are wrong!" Madam Gong, who was moved in her heart, thought for a while and replied: "I remember reading two failed poems in Suiyuan Poetry Talk: 'There should be tears shed on a confidant, and I feel ashamed to treat ordinary people.' It doesn't matter whether you pass the exam or not, anyway, in my opinion, you will always be a gifted scholar who will be proud of you sooner or later."

It is one thing to be proud in the future, but another thing to fail in this subject.The "I'm sorry" he said was not the gossip she thought, but the arrival of the creditor.Liang Dingfen left Beijing last year and still left behind a lot of "Beijing debts". In the past six months or so, she has drawn up a lot of losses. If she tries to make a move, the lender of Beijing debts will immediately come to ask for it. Wouldn't it bother her?Even if you can manage to get past it, and "living in Chang'an, it's not easy", how can you stay in Beijing and wait until the next subject three years later?It seems that the unnamed day on the list is the time to go out to Beijing to look for food.

These words can only be kept in the heart, at this time, it is in vain.After much deliberation, Wen Tingshi could only cast aside his worries, cheer up, and deal with the exam with all his strength. This is the only way to dispel the situation in front of him, so he changed the subject and said: "When you enter the venue in the morning the day after tomorrow, the exam tools will still trouble you." This is the second time Mrs. Gong has prepared examination equipment for him.Based on the experience of sending him to Qiuwei last year, this time it was taken leisurely and prepared in two parts, a rattan box, horn curtain, horn enclosure, nails, hammers, bedding, clothes, kerosene stove, teapot, rice bowl, etc.; In a three-bar test basket, only the bottom bar is full, containing food such as tea, rice oil, sauce, etc., and the other two bars are empty.

"I need you to check the pen, ink, and manuscript paper by yourself. I have washed the pencil case and bag, and here they are!" Mrs. Gong pulled away her first finger and pointed, "I will make the vegetables and snacks for the market tomorrow afternoon. Good can be bad." "You don't need to bother, just buy some ready-made things like mutton in sauce and 'box dishes'. The most important thing..." "'I love red peppers all the way.'" She rushed to read one of his words.Wen Tingshi smiled, "I don't think you will forget." He said, "And don't forget to bring me a bottle of wine."

"Forget it!" She replied softly, "You write fast, you come out early, the first scene is over, go home and have a drink." "No!" Wen Tingshi stubbornly said, "I entered the room for half a day on the first tenth day of the lunar new year, and I didn't ask questions until the beginning of the evening. I can definitely finish the whole day on the eleventh day, and I can't leave the room until the twelfth day. Waiting for this One night is too boring, how can I not pass it up with wine?" "That's good! I'll prepare a bottle of wine for you. But you have to promise me that you can only drink after the paper is handed in."

"Yes! I promise you." So I was speechless all night.The next morning, after finishing taking care of his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, as well as the books he had brought with him, he went out to visit friends.When he returned home in the evening, Mrs. Gong had already prepared the food to bring into the venue, and also cooked some exquisite Hunan dishes, wishing him the best of luck.When he was drunk and full, he urged him to go to bed early to recharge his batteries so that he could win that "Huiyuan". Wen Tingshi woke up, but it was midnight, and drank a cup of tea. Looking at the partition wall, there was still light and shadow, and she hadn't fallen asleep yet.what is she doingDo you sit alone under the lamp, or lean on the pillow and read poetry?He really wanted to take a look, but he put on his long coat and went to the corner door, but withdrew his hand that was about to knock on the door, just because he was going to enter the room tomorrow, so he should clean up his thoughts and rectify his thoughts. I went to bed again but couldn't fall asleep, I tossed and turned until the dawn, Fang felt that his eyes were heavy and he gradually felt drowsy. I don't know how much time has passed, I woke up with a start, and sat up abruptly, but I saw the dawn through the window screen, and there was the sound of cars rumbling outside the wall. Wen Tingshi calmed down and thought carefully, the dream was vivid in his mind, and he woke up in surprise because of his "first art".The test paper for the first round was labeled as "Blue List" because what was written on the paper was not stereotyped essays and test post poems, but a poem, which he clearly remembered was "Bodhisattva Man": The ember curling pot cracked, and the curtain caught a glimpse of Linglong snow; helplessly late at night, Han Jiao resigned. "A strange dream!" He whispered softly, "'When the night was helpless, Hanjiao resigned'." Unconsciously, the memories of being together on snowy nights around the winter solstice last year floated up. The memory brought him an indescribably troubled state of mind.In addition to the charming fragrance, there is more remorse and fear. He remembered the saying "one fate, two luck, three Fengshui, four accumulations of yin skills and five readings". Did the unwritten passage between "Zheng" hurt Yin Zhi? For this dream, I kept doing evil in my heart.After three trials, I went to Liulichang to watch the Red Records on April 12th. From morning till night, I only saw 180 people. . When I got home, I was naturally unhappy.Mrs. Gong was suffering without words to comfort her, and she was afraid that it would be a very painful thing for him to wait for the "good news" all night, so she tried her best to persuade him to drink and got him drunk.But he still expected him to wake up and become a new scholar. Waking up is still juren.Last year, Liu Ruozeng, Xie Yuan of Beiwei, lost his name to Sun Shan for the second Zhangjian, which made Mrs. Gong feel better, and she also had words to persuade him, "The boss has no eyes, it's not that the writing is not good." She said, "A great talent is a late bloomer. !" "I hope so!" Wen Tingshi smiled wryly, thinking of leaving Beijing. Of course, this is not something that can be planned in a day or two, and there will inevitably be a lot of entertainment after the list, to congratulate Xinke Jinshi, and to accept Xinke Jinshi's condolences.In a month, there was a big difference between prosperity and decline. Wen Tingshi was not a very open-minded person, so he was naturally in a bad mood and was tired of socializing, so he just hid in Changshan to avoid the noise. "I'll tell you a strange thing." Zhi Rui came back from the Imperial Academy one day and told him, "King Chun is going to inspect the navy..." "That's not surprising. Haven't you been rewarded with an apricot-yellow sedan chair recently?" "Listen to me. It's not surprising that King Chun is on a tour of the navy, but it's strange that Li Lianying goes with him." "Then, isn't that the disaster of the Tang Dynasty's supervisory army, and it's reappearing today?" "That's right!" Zhi Rui complained anxiously, "It's really worrying." "This must be a head-on blow! Once this case is opened, the harm will be beyond words. But you must have a strong pen, and you must make a statement, such as Chen Yu'an and Zhang Xiangtao admonishing the 'Gengchen Meridian Gate Case'. It will take a few days to return." "I think so too. The memorandum must be sincere enough to move people, and reason enough to convince people. Not only must the benefits be explained thoroughly, but also the words must be measured. Otherwise, it will be useless, and the more violent it will be, the worse it will be." Zhi Rui Looking up at the house and sighing: "It's so rare now!" "As long as you look for it carefully, it may not be missing." "Yunge," Zhirui asked seriously, "Can you draw up a manuscript? I'll get someone to submit it." Wen Tingshi replied with a wry smile: "I am in this situation, my heart is in a mess, and the pen is more important than the tripod. What can I do?" "Okay!" Zhi Rui said helplessly, "Wait for me to figure out a way." Zhirui's method is to use words instead of words. He decided to encourage his brother-in-law "Mobeizi" to persuade King Chun to fight.Having made up his mind, he immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Yimo. Yimo also attached great importance to the matter, and when he received the letter, he set up a car and drove directly to Shiyuan. It was for King Chun to go out to sea to inspect the fleet, which was an unprecedented move in the Qing Dynasty.Some of them had official business to discuss; some were on errands to reply to the preparation of the carriages and horses; some were for the entourage to ask for instructions to check the schedule of the navy's location; Arrangements had to be made in advance, so Yimo waited for half an hour before seeing King Chun. This is the first time they have met in 20 days. When they met last time, there was no order to send King Chun to inspect the navy, so Yimo first asked: "This time, we should send brother Qi to sea. There is such a move, but I don’t understand why Li Lianying is accompanying him?” Why did Li Lianying accompany him? King Chun didn't quite understand. According to his thinking, it was the same as sending eunuchs to Nanyuan quietly to watch the exercise at Shenji Camp.But the eunuch was too ostentatious to go out of Beijing, so he refused at that time.There had to be an excuse for the refusal, and his reason was that Li Lianying was the top-ranked third rank, and his position was too great, which seemed inconvenient.Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Cixi answered very frankly: "Let him bring the top of the sixth rank." This time, there was no room for evasion, so she had to reluctantly agree. Hearing Yimo's question now, he didn't answer first, but looked at the letter in his hand and said, "What? What's going on outside?" "Look, Brother Seven! This is Zhi Boyu's letter." The letter was written very earnestly, saying that this court will do its best to punish the mistakes of the former Ming Dynasty and not allow eunuchs to leave the capital, which is a very holy family law.During the Tongzhi period, An Dehai was punished in Shandong, and the marriage between the empress dowagers of the two palaces and Mu Zong was admired and admired by all the subjects in the world.Now that Li Lianying is ordered to go out to sea with King Chun to inspect the navy, naturally he dare not act recklessly, but once this example is opened, eunuchs can be sent to various provinces to inspect military affairs at any time.In this way, the disaster of the eunuchs supervising the army in the Tang Dynasty in the far distance, and the fault of "guarding the eunuchs" in the Ming Dynasty in the near future will be reproduced today.In the end, I persuaded Yimo: "Don't fight with your words, you can restore a lot of the system." The words are just and eloquent, with a loud voice, but at this point, the uncooked rice will be ripe, and it is impossible to recover.But if we tell the truth, Yimo might blame Empress Dowager Cixi for what she did: why didn't she argue with reason at that time?At the same time, I will definitely try my best to persuade and be unyielding. I must try to ask my superiors to take back my order. Wouldn't it add a lot of trouble. Thinking like this, he refused to tell the truth, and simply admitted his fault, "It's my fault, I asked to send it myself." King Chun said: "I can't go back on my word. I can't argue now, and I'll find a way to suppress them in the future." This answer was beyond Yimo's expectation, and he asked in amazement: "Seventh Brother, how did you remember this? Please send an eunuch to accompany you! Doesn't this grow their arrogance? " "I also worked hard." King Chun reluctantly found a reason: "Those who let them pamper themselves in the deep palace should also look at the situation outside, and let them know the danger of the storm and the suffering of the soldiers." The words still make sense, but Jin Wang is honest, but he doesn't hide his insincere expression, so Yimo sneered slightly: "Brother Seven is really well-intentioned. But in my opinion, I think I have a strong armor and a sharp soldier. I have grown the arrogance of the deep palace." "No, no! Just watch." "I hope it's as Seventh Brother said." Yimo asked again: "Does Seventh Brother want to take the apricot-yellow sedan chair given by the emperor?" "Then how can it be?" Chun Wang put on a look, looking quite nervous and solemn, "Exceeding the gift, the kindness is extraordinarily special, how can a subject be overstepped?" Regarding Yanxu's deep meaning of fighting for honor in Dongling, Yimo has also heard a little about it, and he is very suspicious that Empress Dowager Cixi rewarded King Chun and Fujin for riding in apricot-yellow sedan chairs, just like Yongzheng's various "unusual numbers" for Nian Gengyao. Is it intentional to try to see if he has the heart of disobedience?So at this moment, seeing Chun Wang's vigilant and fearful expression, and knowing that he has deeply understood the principle of maintaining surplus and protecting prosperity, I naturally feel comforted. However, he may be just like the "dismantling utensil" placed on the table, remembering the teaching of Confucius: "If it is empty, it will be broken, if it is in the middle, it will be upright, and if it is full, it will be overturned", but it may not occur that the Empress Dowager Cixi has suspicions about him heart of.At this level, it's best to point him in the dark.Thinking this way, I just looked up and found the family motto written by King Chun himself: "The wealth is also great, the birth is also great, and the descendants will also be troubled later. If you ask what is the reason?Children and grandchildren who have more money are also bolder; they are not afraid of any major event, and they will not lose their wealth and family! " Then he pointed to the word and asked deliberately: "What do you mean by 'a big event in the sky'?" " "This...," King Chun stopped for him to ask, "it's nothing more than a description of how big it is!" "'It's as big as the sky and you will rest' is Shaoling's poem. However, I feel that there is no deep meaning in the mouth of Zhu Qige. It is better for the descendants to understand." King Chun was a little dazed when he heard his words, but his expression changed quickly, revealing a deeper level of vigilance and fear.Obviously, he has realized that the Empress Dowager Cixi has always been wary, and one day he will become the nameless "Supreme Emperor" as the emperor's real father. "I was wrong!" He said dejectedly, "I really don't know how to retreat bravely?" "Just keep this in mind." Yimo couldn't bear it, and comforted him, "'Superior' knows good and bad after all." When Yimo left, King Chun was in a daze for a long time. When he was restless and restless, someone came to report: "Master Rong is here." Ronglu is now a frequent visitor to Shiyuan again.At the end of last year, he was promoted by King Chun to repay the credit of Shenjiying's guns, and he was given the punishment of "downgrading to a second level". , often travels to Shiyuan, as the think tank of King Chun.Hearing him at this time, he felt relieved, and immediately extended to see him. "Zhonghua," he asked quietly, "is there any movement on the road?" Rong Lu knew that this was referring to Li Lianying's entourage, so he calmly replied: "There is no movement at the moment. But with all eyes on him, when he comes back, maybe someone will talk." "This matter is really out of helplessness." King Chun sighed and said, "The more I think about it now, the more worried I am." "Since the prince has already thought about it, it's better to plan ahead, so I should send him a letter." "How do you say it?" "He," Rong Lu changed his words suddenly, "Actually, I think he also knows that he is not as flamboyant and impetuous as Xiao Anzi after all." That is to say, Li Lianying should take An Dehai as a lesson from the past. Chun Wang deeply thinks so, but he doesn't know how to reveal this to himself?Then he asked Rong Lu again. "I think it's better to be careful! Even if he knows it himself, there is nothing wrong with reminding him again. Look, how should I say this?" Rong Lu thought for a while and replied: "You don't need to tell him specifically. The prince might as well issue an edict to inform the entourage not to harass the needs of the request. If you dare to refuse to obey, please name him to participate. I think he will know. If or Otherwise, the prince might as well use the people in the mansion as an example of killing chickens and scaring monkeys." "Yes, yes! This is a good idea. You can write a draft for me here." As he spoke, King Chun personally lifted the lid of the inkstone for him.Rong Lu hurriedly checked the pen and paper himself, stood beside the desk, and drew up an edict for King Chun. Although it was an official article, the tone was very serious.After reading it, King Chun drew a monogram, and then sent his guards to the Navy Yamen to issue it. "There is one more thing, I can only discuss with you. Li Yufu told me yesterday that his superiors have revealed that he is really tired after all these years and wants to return to politics early. Look, what should I do? " This sentence cannot be answered casually, Rong Lu thought for a long time and replied: "It's best for the prince to pretend that there is no such thing." "Do you want to express it first, please ask your superiors to train politics for a few more years?" "No need!" Rong Lu shook his head, "It seems that the prince is very concerned about this important matter." "That's right!" King Chun nodded deeply. "What is the meaning of the above, I can't guess. Anyway, if there is such a meaning, it is natural to explain to the prince first, and then it will not be too late to play back." "Yes." King Chun thought for a moment and then said, "It's best to arrange a few people there first, and when the time comes to make a statement, please be sure to ask the superior to accept the order, which is more appropriate." "There is no need to make arrangements. At that time, someone will naturally do what the prince wants." King Chun nodded, thinking of another matter, "Zhonghua," he asked, "Look, the superior will ask Pi Ni Li to follow me, what is it?" What's the meaning?" Before Li Lianying was purified and entered the palace, she was in the business of tanning leather, so she had such a nickname of "skin tanning plum".Rong Lu thought to himself, did King Chun know what he said? If he really doesn't know, that's only half the story. To say half is to say only one thing.Li Lianying's mission on this trip, as far as Rong Lu knew, had two tasks. One of them was that the Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to know what the reputation of King Chun was like.This is naturally the heart of "the hero's suspicion". Telling the honest and honest King Chun will frighten him, so it is not appropriate to talk too much. So he only talked about the other half: "Beiyang military training, whether it's a navy or a navy, costs a lot of money. Last time no one said that the Jiyuan ship was not worth that much money? Rumors from the outside, the matter has been suppressed. But after all, the higher-ups are a little suspicious, and they sent Pi Ni Li, I think, there is an intention to investigate secretly." "It makes sense, but be careful." So he passed on the next day: This time the review must be a big show of military prestige, which means to make Li Lianying dazzled by the glory of the military, so that he can go back and talk about it to the Empress Dowager Cixi, thinking that it is worth spending a lot of money.