Of course the emperor would not tell Li Kui explicitly, "How about you take the exam? Just write according to my thoughts, and I guarantee you will win the first prize."

No matter how inexperienced Zhao Xu is in governing, he would still say this.

But the emperor said something: "I will take care of you."

This is enough.

Fan Chong and Li Kui are both smart people. Even if they couldn't react at the time, they realized the profound meaning of this sentence after they left the palace. The emperor only had one reason to take care of them, and that was to do things according to the emperor's wishes. Really

If Zhao Xu went against the emperor, no matter how good his impression of Li Kui was, he would not tolerate Li Kui losing face to the Tian family.

Then there is only one result. If the emperor wants to implement the reform, one of them, Li Kui or Fan Chong, must desperately tout the benefits of the reform. By the way, it is best to also tout the benefits of the reform, and it is best to also tout the emperor Shenzong, in order to satisfy the emperor.

Fan Chong can't do this, because there are always obstacles that father and son can't get around.

Li Kui couldn't do it either, firstly because he didn't want to do it, and secondly because of his sect. Although breaking up with his sect would not have as serious consequences as breaking up with his family, it would still stink in the street.

Su Guo had fewer choices than them, he could only follow Su Zhe all the way to the dark side.

After much deliberation, Li Kui felt that instead of letting others get this benefit, it would be better to give it to someone close to him. At this time, Ma Yu came to his door.

Speaking of which, it is not easy to win the top prize.

Don't talk nonsense about how the number one scholar must have an upright appearance and a dignified appearance. Before the provincial examination, appearance will not be included in the examination results at all. The examination papers are all copied from anonymous papers, with the same style and style.

Who knows what the scholar who wrote the examination paper looks like and whether he is handsome? Only in the final palace examination, appearance will become an additional point in determining the number one scholar.

But not every Jinshi had the chance to be received by the emperor.

Generally speaking, the chief examiner and the ministers draw up the palace examination rankings, ranging from a dozen to thirty or fifty. If the emperor is more diligent, it is possible to have hundreds. But almost no emperor has the heart to read all the palace examination papers.

And score. After all, after the imperial examination, the results will be available within three to five days at the latest. How can a busy person like the emperor, who also has dinner and bedtime to pick up girls, keep struggling with hundreds of papers?

Generally, if there are thirty papers selected by ministers, the emperor will meet with more than half of them for the sake of caution.

At this time, good looks really show their advantages.

It stands to reason that the imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty was already very complete, but even so, things would still happen.

The imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty inherited the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty, and added the imperial examination structure of county examination, interpretation examination, and provincial examination. It also creatively used the pseudonym-transcription system to greatly eliminate the possibility of cheating in the examination. The imperial examination system supplemented

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty laid the foundation for China's imperial examination system for the next thousand years. It formed a three-tier selection system of preparatory examination, provincial examination and palace examination, which greatly safeguarded the fair selection system of the imperial examination.

But in the imperial examination, there will still be mistakes.

For example, Taizu was a straightforward person and once made a rule: if the scores in the palace examination are almost the same, the number one scholar will be determined based on the speed of handing in the papers.

But there are exceptions. One time, Jinshi Wang Sizong and Chen Shi submitted their papers at the same time, and the scores were equally matched. So Taizu sat on the dragon chair, patted his head and said: "If we have a fight, the winner will be the number one scholar."

The Wen Zhuangyuan became the Wu Zhuangyuan.

When Kou Zhun presided over the palace examination, he set a precedent for the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty to be in a black area. He also said this: "People from the south should not be crowned toasters."

Another time, Zhenzong liked to choose good-looking people as the top pick.

During the Shenzong period, because the emperor was obsessed with Huang Shang's literary talent, and the emperor was a fan of the new Jinshi, Huang Shang was determined to be the number one scholar before taking part in the palace examination.

Another example: It is not suitable for a clan member to be the number one scholar.

Old and young in order...

Anyway, there were many dark spots in the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty. Who knows when the emperor's brain suddenly twitched and he made a stupid move?

Nowadays, the emperor wants new scholars to praise his father, which is not too outrageous. After all, compared with his ancestors, what Zhao Xu did is not too outrageous.

As for whether Li Kui can win the top prize?

Of course you can.

The number one scholar is selected by the courtiers, usually no more than thirty, and then the emperor decides which paper to be the number one scholar. It can be said that the only person who decides who is the number one scholar is the emperor. If he thinks that Li Kui is good, Li Kui will be the number one scholar. This is the same as

It doesn't matter that he has a dark complexion, a tall stature, and a vicious face. Anyway, the emperor will not respond, and the ministers will not have any objections.

But Li Kui couldn't do this. If he did, he would deceive his master and destroy his ancestors, and break up with the Su clan.

How could Li Kui ruin his reputation with such unloyal behavior?

As for Ma Yu?

As long as the Wen family doesn't care, he has no position to speak of. No. 1 Scholar, I didn't even dare to think about it before. Now that someone is coming to my door, if he still pretends to be aloof, what if Li Kui doesn't tell him the secret of winning the No. 1 Scholar?

Woolen cloth?

He is destined to spend the rest of his life in regret.

Ma Yu immediately stood up, bowed and bowed to Li Kui and Fan Chong in turn. He actually wanted to salute. For the sake of being the number one scholar, such flashy things as face should be thrown away. He felt that the rules for bowing were too small, so he might as well throw them away.

Make a big bow and kneel on the ground.

"You are an outstanding person, Yuan Chang, my parents gave birth to me, and I have two people who have been kind to me. I swear here that Ma Yu will never betray him. If he has second thoughts, he will be punished by heaven and earth!" Ma Yu said solemnly, saying that he was deeply affectionate, but the taste

Something is wrong.

Scholars who can sacrifice integrity for the sake of wealth are all treacherous.

These words seemed to be said by his master. Li Kui suddenly had such words pop up in his mind, which really surprised him. But recently, he seemed to have people kneeling down to him inexplicably and swearing some words of allegiance. Before,

It's Gao Qiu, who said similar things. Now he has become a tribute scholar, Ma Yu. This guy may still be the number one scholar in the future.

Li Kui thought about it, it seemed that he didn't want to be a traitor, and he was already on the road of no return.

Fan Chong hurriedly helped Ma Yu up: "Brother Boren, you and I have been classmates for many years, why do you do this?"

Can Ma Yu not express his feelings?

But Fan Chong couldn't pull Ma Yu away at all, and Ma Yu also knew that among the two people in front of him, Fan Chong was just a follower, as if he was kidnapped by Li Kui and others and sent to the Duke of Lu's mansion. The protagonist should be Bi Jian

, he was just a follow-up gift. The reason why he achieved good things in the end was mainly because Bi Jian was too ambitious, and Duke Wen saw the clues and gave up decisively.

Otherwise, good things like marrying into the Duke of Lu would not be his turn.

The same is true for Fan Chong. If this man was really appreciated by the emperor, Fan Zuyu would not be relegated to a dangerous place like Lingnan.

Ma Yu knew very well that the person he wanted to seek refuge with was not Fan Chong, but Li Kui. As for whether Li Kui would accept it, he was not sure. In his opinion, Li Kui was as mysterious as a mandrill in the night, and he could not see clearly what he really was.

The true depth of the bit.

Fan Chong couldn't pull Ma Yu, but Li Kui reached out and fished it out on the ground. Ma Yu was lifted up by Li Kui like a man made of paper. Li Kui was not polite.

If you kneel down to others, you can get the top prize.

This is not a loss.

This is also because he can't compete for the top pick, otherwise nothing will happen to Ma Yu.

So...so...so...

Li Kui spoke directly into Ma Yu's ear for a while. Ma Yu was surprised and said in horror: "Is it that simple?"

"It's that simple. You should understand that Brother Fan and I can't compete for the top prize, right?" Li Kui smacked his lips a few times and sighed with emotion: "Don't tell me that you even wrote to praise the late emperor's achievements.

Not coming out?"

"This is absolutely impossible."

When it comes to writing articles, Ma Yu, a newly promoted tribute scholar who was born in Taixue, naturally has no pressure. If he can't even do this, how can he pass the provincial examination and be awarded the tribute smoothly, and his results are also extremely good among the tribute scholars?

A handful?

However, Li Kui was quite honest, and he immediately told Ma Yu: "But Brother Ma, you have to think clearly. Although this matter is simple, it may not necessarily end well. Do you still remember Zhou Bangyan, a senior in Taixue?"

"This senior is a legend in Taixue." Speaking of Zhou Bangyan, Ma Yu couldn't help but be fascinated. The next year he came to the capital, and in just a few months, he wrote several poems praising the emperor, and was actually valued by Emperor Shenzong.

He was born as a Jinshi. He was promoted so quickly after that, which was rare in the official circles of the Song Dynasty in the past six months. However, this senior is not doing well now. Mainly because the conservatives regard him as a thorn in their side, and the reformers do not take him seriously.

own people.

But how can you guarantee that being an official will be smooth sailing?

Li Kui helped him as a favor, but not helping him was his duty.

Even if Li Kui didn't help, Ma Yu would still like to thank Li Kui. If Li Kui hadn't kidnapped him and sent him to the Wen family on the day when the provincial examination results were released, would he have been able to get such a good marriage? Would he have been able to get such a good marriage? A wealthy family like the Wen family

Valve, not him

Such a scholar can exist. As long as he gets married to Miss Wen, he will be considered a member of the top aristocratic families in the Song Dynasty. In the past, a noble son like Fan Chong did not want to see him, but in the future he will be with him

Brothers are worthy of each other.

This is a good marriage, the power to change a person.

But Ma Yu still needs to go on his own career path, not to mention that Zhou Bangyan has no family to rely on. But Ma Yu is not without it. He didn't have it before, but now after marrying the Duke of Lu State, he has it. Even now, Zhou Bangyan

It's not going well, but he is also a man who has achieved great success. He is just a scholar from Enyin's family, how dare he be picky?

Ma Yu said decisively: "Seize the day and don't look at the past."

"Okay, Li likes to associate with cheerful friends like Brother Ma. But Brother Ma, you have to be careful not to leak the news. His Majesty is young and most reluctant to lose face. We as ministers can only protect him everywhere and cannot give him anything.

He is causing trouble." Li Kui reminded.

Ma Yu was also a decisive person, and immediately said: "Brother Li, just in case, I will go and discuss with the building officials to change the dormitory number." He then wondered: "Brother Li, I see there is still an empty bunk here

, I wonder if Brother Li will dislike it?"
To be continued...