Chapter 176 175 Meeting with the Grand Master

"Is it possible that we study and learn etiquette just to take the imperial examination and become officials, to hold high positions and enjoy ourselves without caring about the fate of the people?"

After Wei Guangde expressed his intention to ask the court to downgrade the banquet, he looked around the crowd to see their reactions.

For such a thing, he is definitely not qualified as a junior Jinshi. In Wei Guangde's opinion, at least 2/3 of the new Jinshi must agree.

Democracy is important.

Wei Guangde was not disappointed. The Jinshi scholars had not yet entered the officialdom, so naturally they were not affected by the bad atmosphere in the officialdom. Their eyes lit up after hearing Wei Guangde's thoughts.

Indeed, Ron's En Banquet is of very high standard, and a lot of money is spent each time it is held. Rumor has it that it costs as much as a thousand taels each time.

As for asking Jinshi to donate money to the disaster area?

Sorry, in this day and age, more people are actually donating money to help local people in need, but there is no awareness of providing help to other provinces.

Yes, in this era, the concept of rurality is very important.

After becoming an official or getting rich, it is an obligation to provide some help to the children of the clan, villagers and elders, such as building bridges and paving roads, and everyone can accept this.

But when it comes to Jinshi from Jiangxi and Fujian spending money to donate to the victims of Shanxi and Shaanxi disasters, everyone would never think about it.

Should I donate?

Should donate.

Who should donate?

Naturally, they are the gentry of Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Of course, in the view of the Jinshi, since the imperial court has insufficient state resources, it is also appropriate to streamline some unnecessary expenses.

The Honor Banquet, for them Jinshi, is more about glory. After all, it is the highest-level banquet for the imperial examination.

It really doesn’t matter whether it’s wine or water, delicacies or porridge at the banquet.

"Okay, I support it."

"Yes, I think that's good too."

The first person to react was Guo Dong, the one who spoke first. He was from Shanxi, and he was a little bit weird about Wei Guangde's rumored identity. However, he was also the first to speak out his support at this time, even though he arrived in the capital early. He didn't see the tragedy in his hometown with his own eyes, but he could see a lot between the lines in the letters home.

The second person to speak out in support was He Bangli. At this time, he had already stood up and recited loudly to the other contemporaries: "The master has said, Zigong said: If you give generously to the people and can help everyone, how can you say it? It can be called benevolence. Confucius said .What is the matter with benevolence? It must be sage. Yao and Shun were like others. A benevolent person. If you want to establish yourself, you can establish others. If you want to reach yourself, you can reach others. If you can draw an example from a close friend, it can be said to be the recipe of benevolence.

We are all disciples of the saint. When the people are suffering, we should adhere to the words of our ancestors and help the people. "

As he finished speaking, the Jinshi from Shanxi at Guo Dong's table stood up to agree, and then the Jinshi from Jiangxi and Fujian also stood up to support Wei Guangde's opinion.

When Wei Guangde saw that everyone's attention was turned to him, he immediately stood up and bowed to the Jinshi, saying: "Sima Xianggong of the previous dynasty once wrote "Exercise thrift to show health". It was when Guangde was young when he saw this article. But it was also very touching.

Frugality is the common virtue; extravagance is the greatest evil.

At a time when the country is running out of resources, we must not only learn from Sima Xianggong to be gentle, courteous and upright, but we should also learn from him to be thrifty and not fond of luxury. "

After saying this, Wei Guangde paused for a moment before continuing: "It's just that, as the book says, 'gifts given by the emperor cannot be violated', the Ron'en Banquet can be held as usual, but the level of the dishes can be lowered or even steamed buns. What we want is The honor of being given a banquet by the emperor is a recognition of our ten years of hardship.”

After finishing speaking, Wei Guangde looked at the dozens of Jinshi people upstairs and said, "This honor banquet is the emperor's commendation to the three hundred Jinshi. We cannot represent it, so I intend to immediately look for more people of the same year. With affection, I I don’t think anyone will object to it.”

"Well, let's go find other people and talk about the Shanshan disaster. I think they will understand."

Xia Kefan also said.

Immediately, everyone went downstairs and talked about the matter with the Jinshi downstairs. They heard that the damage caused by the Shanshan earthquake was so huge, hundreds of thousands of people died as a result, and countless people were displaced due to the disaster, so they agreed immediately.

Soon, nearly 100 new scholars in the restaurant were divided into several groups by Wei Guangde.

As a successor, Wei Guangde was the highest ranked among these Jinshi. At least until people found Zhu Dashou, Tao Dalin and Jinda, everyone naturally took him as the leader.

Wei Guangde took some Jinshi from Jiangxi, Shanxi and Fujian to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, because the Ron'en Banquet was organized by the Ministry of Rites, and so far they did not know who Emperor Jiajing had ordered to host tomorrow's Ron'en Banquet on his behalf. At this time I can only find the Ministry of Rites to express my feelings.

Others were walking along the street looking for other people of the same year. There were also three routes to Zhejiang, South Zhili and Jiangxi guild halls respectively, looking for the top three candidates for this palace examination.

Speaking of which, Wei Guangde only thought of it after mentioning this matter. Such an operation seemed to be conducive to his accumulation of prestige in the same year. Wei Guangde really didn't think of it at first.

Naturally, he hoped that he would not be able to find the top pick and the second pick, but Wei Guangde couldn't tell it, and he had to take the initiative to talk about it, otherwise he would be hated by others afterwards.

There must be some nerds who can get Jinshi, but they are in the minority after all, and others will surely react afterwards.

Therefore, Wei Guangde did not intend to leave this excuse. No matter how you put it, it was him who proposed and advocated it. Naturally, he would take the lead in allocating manpower to find the same year and the petition.

Soon, the personnel were properly assigned, and Wei Guangde took Lao Kan, Guo Dong and other Jinshi directly to the Ministry of Rites, while Xia Kefan and others looked for people everywhere.

After the ceremony of praising officials in the imperial street was just completed and the imperial edict was hung, the main officials of the Ministry of Rites gathered in the main hall to arrange the Rongen Banquet tomorrow. Not only was Shangshu Wang Yongbin present, but also Zuo Shilang Wu Shan was also present. These two naturally held the right to speak in the Ministry of Rites.

Wang Yongbin was already old and had not been in good health in recent years. He had submitted a letter of retirement, but Emperor Jiajing had been dragging his feet and had not approved it. It was not known whether he wanted to wait until he finished this palace examination ceremony before approving it.

Wu Shan was even more interesting. He was Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites the year before last, and then he was transferred to Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel. However, he was sent to the Ministry of Rites by Emperor Jiajing to assist Wang Yongbin in handling government affairs during this palace examination ceremony.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Wu Shan should be the person chosen by Emperor Jiajing to succeed Wang Yongbin as Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.

Wu Shan was also a Hanlin, and served as the editor of the Hanlin Academy, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel. It can be said that he was on the standard path from Hanlin to the cabinet, so although he was still a member of the Ministry of Personnel at this moment, the people in the Ministry of Personnel were submissive to him.

At this time, the two of them were meeting with the left and right vice ministers to ask the doctors of the two Qinglisi of Yizhi and Jingshen about the preparations for the Rongen Banquet tomorrow.

Soon, a clerk excitedly came to the door and asked to enter, saying that there was an important matter to report.

Wang Yongbin was a little tired at this time. After all, he was old. This time, it was because of the three-year talent selection ceremony that he returned to the yamen to work. He was a little exhausted after being busy for so long.

Seeing this, Wu Shan hurriedly asked the clerk to come in and report.

The clerk came in and bowed and said, "Greetings to the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, and to the other gentlemen."

"What's the matter? Come on."

Wu Shan immediately replied, and he wanted to finish the work as soon as possible so that Wang Yongbin, the Minister of State, could go back and rest.

"Report to the lord, there are hundreds of Jinshi gathered outside, saying that they want to meet the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan to plead their case. I dare not hide it and can only report it immediately."

The clerk saw the two doctors who had retreated to the side, and knew that they were discussing matters just now, so he reported it immediately.

"Hundreds of Jinshi?"

At this time, whether it was the already exhausted Wang Yongbin or Wu Shan, or the left and right assistants, they were all surprised.

The ceremony of announcing the names of the new Jinshi and the ceremony of praising officials in the imperial street had just been held today. What went wrong during the ceremony made these new Jinshi dissatisfied.

To be honest, officials are most afraid of such things.

Of course, the other party is a Jinshi, and actually has an official status, so they have a lot of control. What they are most afraid of is the Imperial College and the group of scholars and juren.

Hundreds of people, a lot of people, the crowd was turbulent, if not appeased, I'm afraid something bad will happen.

"Where are the people?"

Wu Shan asked decisively.

"I let them enter the main gate and wait outside the second gate."

The clerk bowed again hurriedly.

"You handled it very well. Did they say anything?"

Wu Shan continued to ask.

"No, they just said they wanted to meet with the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan to plead their case, and there were also Jinshi on their way. When I came in to report, several more Jinshi ran into the main gate."

The clerk answered hurriedly.

"Who is the leader? Is it Zhu Dashou or Jin Da?"

In Wu Shan's opinion, the person who can call on the new Jinshi is either Zhu Dashou, the champion of this palace examination, or Jin Da, the third place.

Speaking of which, as the champion, Jin Da should have been the strongest contender for the champion. As for why he fell in the palace examination, Wu Shan is still very clear.

He and Jin Da were actually the same kind of people. Wu Shan was from Gao'an, Jiangxi. Although he and Yan Ge Lao were from the same hometown, they had different political views.

Wu Shan couldn't stand Yan Shifan's treacherous, cunning, selfish and greedy behavior, so when Yan Song wanted to marry him, Wu Shan flatly refused, and the two families had a rift.

At this time, Wu Shan was actually most afraid of Jin Da's dissatisfaction with losing the title of the top scholar. Although it was not shown at the ceremony of announcing the names of the top scholars, he was just afraid of the possibility.

From the palace examination to the imperial street praise of officials, he participated in all the ceremonies, so as far as he knew, there was nothing wrong. He found it difficult to understand why the Jinshi scholars came to the Ministry of Rites to make trouble.

"I have learned that the leader is Wei Guangde, the first in the second class."

The clerk said hurriedly.

Before coming here, he knew that this matter was serious, so he asked for details before coming in to report, but he didn't ask why the Jinshi scholars came here.

"Wei Guangde?"

When Wu Shan heard this name, he frowned.

He had certainly seen this man before. He had been to the Jiangxi Guild Hall on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month last year. At that time, this Wei Guangde even approached him and said something like "I have long heard of your name".

To be honest, Wei Guangde did not leave a very good impression on Wu Shan. The main reason was that he kept flattering these Jiangxi officials in the court, which made Wu Shan feel that this man was a bit of a sycophant.

As for the changes in the rankings of the imperial examination and the palace examination, he had also heard from his colleagues that it seemed to be the result of the emperor's arbitrary decision. He didn't know how this man's tail was shaken in front of Emperor Jiajing.

He turned his head and whispered to the Minister of Rites Wang Yongbin. What else could he do? Of course, he couldn't avoid seeing him. At least he had to clarify the matter first.

Then, Wang Yongbin said in an old voice: "Go and let that Wei Guangde in."

The clerk agreed and was about to turn around and leave, but Wu Shan said again: "Ask who their leaders are and let them come in too."

In Wu Shan's opinion, Wei Guangde is only sixteen or seventeen years old, still a young man. Logically, he should not have such appeal. He might be used as a gun.

Call the leaders in and see who is doing bad things.

Although Wu Shan doesn't like Wei Guangde, he can't let anyone harm his fellow townsman in front of him, not to mention that he is a teenager who has just entered the officialdom.

The officialdom is dangerous, not just a casual talk.

Many times, if you don't pay attention, maybe it's just a very insignificant little thing, you offend people without knowing it, and you will pay serious consequences.

When the clerk came out to the second gate, he found that there seemed to be more people. He hurriedly asked around and learned that when he went in to report, two groups of more than ten scholars entered the gate.

The clerk came to Wei Guangde and bowed, saying, "Excuse me, sir, what do you want to say to the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan this time? The Grand Master of the Imperial Clan has allowed you to enter, but there are so many people."

As he spoke, the clerk looked at the huge crowd behind Wei Guangde. He didn't finish his words, but his meaning was very clear. It was impossible for all of them to enter.

Wei Guangde naturally understood what the clerk meant.

In fact, when Wei Guangde came, he had already thought about it. The door of the Ministry of Rites was easy to enter, but if he saw the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, it was impossible for all of them to enter. Only a few representatives would be sent.

In Wei Guangde's mind, in addition to himself, he must go, Guo Dong should also be brought in, He Bangli should also go in, and Lao Kan should also follow.

As for the three people in the first class, if they can be found and arrive in time, it is actually good to let them lead.

This is also the rule of the imperial examination. Generally, the people with higher rankings take the lead.

If the three people don't arrive in time, then he can only take the lead himself.

Wei Guangde didn't care about taking the lead. As long as he didn't go too far and didn't annoy the man in Xiyuan, nothing else mattered.

Turning back to the Jinshi, Wei Guangde told them what he meant, and they naturally understood the reason.

Wei Guangde, who currently has the highest ranking in the palace examination, can naturally represent them. Guo Dong is from Shanxi, and He Bangli also knows a lot of information, so it's okay for them to go in.

In fact, it would be best if there were Jinshi from Shaanxi, after all, they must know more information.

It's just a pity that the two people who took the exam in Shaanxi this year haven't arrived yet.

In the eyes of the Jinshi, they have been taught by the saints and know what the petition is about, so it's their duty to come and help.

Soon, everyone else expressed their agreement with Wei Guangde's proposal and asked the few people Wei Guangde mentioned to represent them to meet the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan.

In fact, many people felt sorry, not only because they had not seen the top two and third place winners come to boost the momentum, but also because they were not familiar with the messenger and could not follow him in.

"Greetings to the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, greetings to all the adults."

Wei Guangde led a few people and followed the clerk into the main hall. He unexpectedly saw Wu Shan, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, there. Although he felt strange, he did not show it, but bowed to the adults in the hall in a proper manner.