eurekapd Chapter 131 Palace Examination
Chapter 131 Palace Examination
When entering Yuzhou Prefecture, the Su family couldn't help but feel some emotion in their hearts.
This once prosperous city has lost its former glory.
Yuzhou Prefecture has now experienced a lot of depression after experiencing military chaos and drought. It will take time to repair the damage it has suffered.
Fortunately, starting from last summer, the climate in Yuzhou Prefecture has gradually returned to normal.
The group found an inn in Yuzhou Prefecture and stayed there for one night.
They found a restaurant for dinner, and after dinner, Su Andong and his friends strolled around the streets. They passed by streets they had been to before, and found that some shops had changed, and some houses were obviously newly built.
Su Yuanyuan had also been to Yuzhou Prefecture. Looking at some buildings that were no longer the same as in her memory, she suddenly felt so insignificant. Not only did she feel insignificant in this world, but she also felt the insignificance of her abilities. She had a kind of awe for this world. This awe was also a kind of confusion about the unknown.
After staying in Yuzhou Prefecture for one night, they set off again early the next morning. They did not dare to delay along the way.
The group arrived in Kyoto in early February.
After arriving in Kyoto, he first found an inn to stay in. But thinking that he would stay in Kyoto for a long time, if he passed the imperial examination, he would have to take part in the palace examination. Su An Dong thought about renting a small courtyard.
In Kyoto now, more and more people are taking the exams, so the prices of inns and renting courtyards have naturally increased. Fortunately, Su An Dong is not short of money now.
Kyoto is indeed large, and it is not easy to rent a small courtyard close to the Imperial Examination Hall. In the end, they chose a small courtyard that was not close to the Imperial Examination Hall but was relatively quiet nearby.
After settling down, Su Anton went to a bookstore in Kyoto and bought some books, among which were examination questions from the last two imperial examinations.
After returning from the bookstore, Su Anton started learning mode.
Zhou Huilan and Su Yuanyuan went out and prepared everything Su Antong needed for the exam.
The date of the joint examination is February 28th, and the joint examination is seven days long. Candidates will be allowed to enter the examination hall one day before the start of the examination.
Soon, it was the day of admission. After Su An Dong entered the examination room, Su Zhihao and Wang Cheng waited outside in case of any emergency.
The weather was kind to the candidates this year, with no drop in temperature or heavy rain. It did drizzle once, but it wasn't heavy, and there wasn't a strong wind. Su Anton had brought a rainproof tarp, so he thought it wouldn't have any impact.
Finally, the imperial examination was over and Su Anton left the examination room smoothly.
I have to say that Su Anton's physical condition is still good. Although his face is full of fatigue, he did not fall down.
Seeing how tired his father looked, Su Zhihao unceremoniously picked up Su Anton and carried him out of the crowd quickly.
When Su Anton returned to the rented courtyard, Zhou Huilan had already prepared the meal.
Su Anton simply washed up, had his meal, and went straight back to his room to sleep.
He slept until the next morning. When he woke up, Su Anton was still a little confused. Seeing Zhou Huilan lying beside him, his heart gradually settled down.
Su An Dong was too tired yesterday, so he just washed up and didn't take a shower. Zhou Huilan, seeing how hard he worked, endured it and didn't let him take a shower.
Now that I have had a rest, I must plan on taking a bath.
Zhou Huilan was still very pampered to Su Anton. She let him eat breakfast and rest for a while before letting him take a bath.
After taking a shower, Su Anton felt that he was completely alive again. It was so comfortable.
After Su An Dong had a good rest, he did not relax and began to prepare for the palace examination. No matter whether he passed the examination or not, it was always a good idea to prepare in advance.
Su An Dong went to teahouses and taverns several times and gained some understanding of the current court life.
The current emperor is old and in poor health. The court is basically governed by the crown prince, with the emperor at the helm. This situation has been going on for more than a year.
The current emperor trusts the prince very much. He has no defenses against him at all and supports him with all his strength.
The current emperor was not like this in his early years, but in recent years, as he has grown older and his health has declined, he knows that he will not live for many more years, so he began to devote all his energy to training a crown prince and making plans for the future of this country.
The old emperor also wanted to select talents for his son in this imperial examination to lay a foundation for the future. Therefore, the prince had a lot of say in this imperial examination, and the emperor would basically follow his opinion.
The prince is already over 30 years old. He has been the prince for so many years. Now that he is about to take power, he looks like he wants to make a big move.
The results of the imperial examination were announced, and Su An Dong ranked third. Su An Dong was somewhat surprised by this result, as he did not expect that his ranking would be so high.
What Su An Dong didn't know was that his paper was recognized by the examiner as the third. Because Su An Dong's essay mentioned that only when the people live well can tax revenue be raised and the country can prosper. In order to make the people live well, the first thing is to develop farming and improve productivity.
What Su An Dong said just happened to express the examiner's thoughts. The examiner, Mr. Jiang, was a practical man. He preferred practical articles to those with gorgeous words.
The chief examiner is selected by the prince, and the examiner's preferences largely represent the prince's preferences.
On the day of the palace examination, Su Yuanyuan and others went to the restaurant they had booked in advance, waiting to watch Su Andong's parade.
Su Yuanyuan had pestered Zhou Huilan to book this room a long time ago. Even though it was booked so early, the location of the room was not very good, it could only be described as average. But fortunately, we could still see the group of people.
Su Yuanyuan, who was waiting in the restaurant room, started to bet with her family about Su Andong's ranking. In the end, the bet failed because others also thought that Su Andong would be third. It was because Su Andong and the number three were too compatible.
At this time, the emperor asked the candidates what they thought of the Southern King in the southern border. Did Darong want to recover the southern border? If not, what was the reason? If so, how should it be recovered?
After knowing the test question, the store fell into a strange silence. It was quiet to begin with, but the current silence made everyone in the hall feel a little uneasy. It must be said that this was a tricky question.
If we say that it should be recovered, it seems like we are blaming the current emperor for not taking any action and not recovering the territory.
If he said that it would not be recovered, this answer was obviously not what the prince wanted.
Moreover, it is not so easy to come up with a solution to a problem that has not been solved for so many years.
Su Anton didn't think too much about it. He didn't want to think too deeply about whether he offended anyone or not. He just expressed his thoughts.
It is easy to answer the opinion of Prince Zhennan: traitors and rebels should be killed by anyone.
Whether to recover or not, we must recover. But recovery requires timing and we cannot act impulsively.
We must be fully prepared and accumulate strength, and when the time comes, we can recover it in one fell swoop. It is impossible to recover it peacefully, and war is inevitable. So what we need to do is to strengthen the army and the people.
First, strengthen the army. That is, we must strengthen our own military strength, train the soldiers well, and train a team of elite soldiers and generals to prepare for the future recovery battle.
Second, strengthen the people. Enhance national strength and make good preparations. Prepare all the food and military supplies needed for the war so that the army has no worries.
In terms of details, Su Anton also wrote about how to strengthen the army and the people.
For example, soldiers were trained according to the climate of the southern border to prevent them from being unable to adapt to the local climate and water there.
For example, we should vigorously develop agriculture and increase food output. At the same time, we should make soldiers and civilians united and let the people understand the importance of this battle.
Su Anton did not hesitate like some other candidates, but finished the test paper very quickly, and was almost absorbed in writing.
What Su Anton didn't know was that he stood out among the candidates by writing without hesitation. Of course, he was not the only one who wrote without hesitation. These few people also received the attention of the emperor.
What everyone didn't know was that although the emperor had never recovered the southern border and dealt with the Prince of Zhennan, it was not because he didn't want to, but because the conditions did not allow it.
The reason why he didn't recover the southern border was that the country's strength didn't allow it and the people couldn't stand the turmoil of war. In fact, the failure to recover the southern border was a great regret in the emperor's life.
The emperor hopes that after the crown prince ascends the throne, he will be able to successfully recover the southern border.
In the end, Su Anton still ranked third! It really fulfilled what Mrs. Su said, and he had an indissoluble bond with the number three.
The top scholar was a young man in his twenties with a gentle and elegant appearance, and it was obvious that he came from a noble family.
The runner-up was a man in his early thirties, of medium height, and looked very serious. At first glance, he gave people a sense of being impartial.
The third place winner is Su Anton.
Su Anton has the worst background among the three, and can be said to be from a poor family.
This ranking was intentional by the emperor and the prince. Among the three, one must come from a humble background.
After the rankings were announced, the students expressed their gratitude and began to parade through the streets.
When Su Yuanyuan saw the old man riding a horse in the parade, she was a little surprised. Isn't it said that the third place winner is usually a handsome man? How could it be a middle-aged uncle like the old man?
At the age of 34, it is not an exaggeration to call Su An Dong an uncle here. Some people are already grandfathers at this age.
However, I have to say something fair for Su An Dong. He looks good and young, about 30 years old. He looks much younger than the runner-up.
Su Zhihao looked at his father riding on the horse, and he admired him. From a person who hated studying, he forced himself to study and became what he is today. Even if he had a good memory, it would be useless if he didn't have the heart.
After the palace examination, the remaining time is to wait for the assignment of positions.
The landlord of the courtyard where Su Antong and his friends rented had already learned that one of his tenants had won the third place in the imperial examination.
The landlord was so happy that he could not express it in words. From then on, the price of his courtyard had increased.
The landlord was very proactive in offering to waive Su An Dong's rent, but was rejected by Zhou Huilan. Zhou Huilan felt that it was better not to take advantage of some small benefits. After all, we are now the third place winners, and it is not worth it to get a reputation of taking advantage of small benefits for such a small amount of money.
Don't let the landlord tell you about it and get a bad reputation. This is Kyoto after all, so it's better to be careful.
In the past few days, many people came to see Su Anton, and visiting cards came one after another. After all, he was the newly crowned third place winner.
Su Andong only attended the gathering with the successful candidates in the same imperial examination, and did not attend the others.
Su An Dong knew very well that he had no foundation in Kyoto, in the court, or in the officialdom. Now some so-called socializing and operations could not solve anything.
The main thing is that Su An Dong doesn't want to take sides now, and doesn't want to classify himself as a faction. Don't get involved in any muddy water when you don't understand the situation yourself.
The official position that Su An Dong was awarded was soon handed down. It was not in the Hanlin Academy, nor was it a demoted official position. Instead, it was the head of the Zhifang Division under the Ministry of War, a sixth-rank official position.
Su An Dong was naturally very satisfied with this rank. He had not expected to get a rank of the sixth rank right after entering the officialdom. This was beyond his expectations. Su An Dong thought that if he could get a rank of the sixth rank, it would be very good. After all, we don’t have any background.
Su Andong had never expected this position. He had expected to be demoted to be a county magistrate. But what the hell was the head of the Zhifang Division, and he was a head who was demoted to a local level.
Later, Su An Dong found out that his position as the Director of the Zhifang Division was specially set up to prepare for the recovery of the southern border. He was responsible for preparing food, equipment and other military supplies for the southern border army and managing the military households in the southern border.
In order to facilitate Su Anton's work, the emperor gave Su Anton great convenience, and Su Anton could report his work progress directly to the emperor.
The next day after he was demoted to his official position, the emperor summoned Su Anton.
This was the first time Su An Dong met the emperor alone. It would be a lie to say that he was not nervous. After all, this man could decide life and death. With just one word, he could take the lives of his entire family. How could he not be in awe?
When he saw the emperor, Su An Dong knelt without any psychological pressure. In the face of absolute power, everything seemed so weak.
The prince was standing nearby. Meeting his two former leaders at the same time, Su An Dong was very careful and reminded himself to be careful with his words and actions. Su An Dong understood that being with the emperor was like being with a tiger.
The emperor said bluntly: "Your position was proposed by the crown prince. The crown prince admires you very much and gave you such an important task."
The emperor's subtext is: We trust you so much, please don't let us down! Su An Dong naturally heard it and hurriedly said: "I will do my best to live up to the emperor's grace."