Chapter 186 185 Entering the Imperial Academy

The Hanlin Academy was established in the early Tang Dynasty. It was an institution dedicated to the palace. It housed talents in literature, classics, divination, medicine, monks and Taoism, calligraphy and painting, and chess. They accompanied the emperor on banquets and entertainment. It was collectively called the Hanlin Academy and was not an official official office.

During this period, the Hanlin Academy recruited more people with expertise from all walks of life, especially in entertainment.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, after the vassal rule and the chaos in the world, it gradually became an important institution for drafting confidential edicts. It was not until the Song Dynasty that it became a formal official position and was in line with the imperial examination. It was known as the "Emperor's Private".

In the Ming Dynasty, due to the establishment of the cabinet system, the Hanlin Academy gradually lost its responsibility as the emperor's secretary and became a place for cultivating talents. It was responsible for compiling books and writing histories, drafting edicts, serving as readers for the royal family, serving as imperial examination examiners, etc., with a clear status. expensive.

Although the Hanlin Academy is only a fifth-rank yamen, because the original cabinet actually belonged to the Hanlin Academy, the rank of cabinet bachelors is still only a fifth-rank yamen until now. However, Hanlin bachelors have always been the highest-status scholar group in society, and they have concentrated The elite among intellectuals at that time had a superior social status.

The honor of becoming a Hanlin bachelor has also led a large number of scholars to take part in the imperial examination, hoping that one day they can be "ranked as a Hanlin scholar".

In the past, the concubines who entered the Hanlin Academy often traveled together and went to the Hanlin Academy to report together.

However, this year is a little special. As long as Wei Guangde gets this grace alone, even if it is the emperor's personal decision, it is not the choice of the Hanlin Academy.

Wei Guangde had already learned from other channels the whole story of his being "nominated as a member of the Imperial Academy". Apart from not knowing what the emperor was thinking, everything else was already clear.

Fortunately, when Wei Guangde was at home in the past, his father would tell the family history during ancestor worship every New Year. Otherwise, Wei Guangde would have thought that his family had something to do with Lao Zhu's family.

After arriving in a carriage outside the gate of the Hanlin Academy, Wei Guangde jumped off the carriage and said, "You guys find a place to rest nearby. It's time to eat."

Because it was his first day to report to the Hanlin Academy, it was impossible for Wei Guangde to bring Zhang Ji in. He didn't even know whether he had an independent office, what he was assigned to do, and who was assigned to be responsible for his studies.

Asking Zhang Ji and Li San to find a place to wait, Wei Guangde walked to the gate of the Hanlin Academy and presented the note from the Ministry of Etiquette to the guard on duty, and he let him in.

Wei Guangde felt a little uneasy at the moment, because he had decided early in the morning that there would be no admission of common people into this department, so the Hanlin Academy had no intention of recruiting people. Now that he was personally appointed by the emperor, he didn't know whether he would be welcomed by others.

A few steps into the door, Wei Guangde planned to find someone to ask himself who he should talk to. Although Yin Tai was now in charge of the Hanlin Academy, he still held the title of Young Master Zhan of Zhan Shifu, so he might not be here now.

Wei Guangde looked unfamiliar, so he was naturally noticed by a passing Hanlin. He walked past Wei Guangde, stopped in front of him, and asked curiously: "Are you Wei Chuanlu?"

"I don't dare. The underachieving student Wei Guangde pays homage to your lord."

This man wore a black gauze hat, a cyan collared shirt, a belt with engraved silver ornaments on his waist, and a white pheasant on his chest. When Wei Guangde saw the front of the visitor, he immediately knew that he was a fifth-grade official.

Wei Guangde didn't know this person, so he knew that he was definitely not from Jiangxi.

"Haha, let me call you Guangde. Are you here to report at the Hanlin Academy?"

The visitor obviously knew that he was a concubine. In fact, it had spread in the official circles of the capital a few days ago. This year, Emperor Jiajing appointed Wei Guangde to enter the Hanlin Academy as a concubine.

"yes."

Wei Guangde replied respectfully.

"No need to be restrained, my name is Wu Qing, and I am a bachelor's student in our college. When you first arrive, you should go to Mr. Yin's place first."

Wu Qing smiled and then looked back, guessing that Wei Guangde might not know Dao, so he continued: "Well, I'll take you there, it's a good idea anyway."

"Thank you, Mr. Wu."

Wei Guangde immediately expressed gratitude.

Wu Qing led the way, and Wei Guangde quickly chatted with him for a few words, knowing that he was only promoted to bachelor's degree this year. Before that, he was just an editor, and he took several years to pass the exam before he was promoted.

"Perhaps if I stay for a few more years, I will be sent out to study abroad like Brother Ziyi."

At the end, Wu Qing said helplessly that the brother Ziyi he was talking about was Kang Siqian, the test room master of Wei Guangde Association.

The outside world knows that the Hanlin Academy is noble and noble, and it is the prime minister, but how many people in the Hanlin Academy can cross that hurdle to become a bachelor respected by thousands of people and enter the cabinet.

More Hanlins are actually sent out to various provinces to serve as academic advisors. Only a handful of them have the opportunity to return to the central government to serve as Ministers of the Six Ministries or the Supervisory Council. They still retain the opportunity to continue to attack cabinet ministers, and more of them do it outside. This is the end of the level of Chief Envoy.

Soon, Wu Qing took Wei Guangde to the door of a public house.

"Master Yin should be inside. Shu Jishi reported today that he will not fail to come."

Wu Qing smiled at Wei Guangde, then clasped his fists, turned and left the public room where he was meeting.

After Wei Guangde respectfully saluted Wu Qing, he glanced at the rather grand public house and walked over.

Today is the day when Shu Jishi enters the Hanlin Academy. As the head of the Academy, Yin Tai will naturally arrive.

After the clerk took Wei Guangde into the room, Wei Guangde hurriedly bowed to Yin Zhanshi and said, "Wei Guangde, a junior student, pays homage to Mr. Yin."

"Guangde is here, please sit down."

Wei Guangde gave Yin Tai a good impression, so he didn't put on airs, but kindly showed Wei Guangde a seat. After the clerk brought tea, he said: "I think your teachers should have told you that you still have a long way to go in terms of learning, so I won't say much.

Now you have been appointed by His Majesty to enter the Hanlin Academy. You should calm down and study hard in the next three years. With His Majesty's respect for you, you will surely be successful in the future.

However, before that, you should calm down after entering the Hanlin Academy. Come, don't worry about those things outside, especially those in the court.

Even if you really have any ideas, tell me first, don't run to the Ministry of Rites with the Jinshi like last time, do you know how bad the impact is? "

Wei Guangde had just sat down for a while, and heard Du Yintai say this, knowing that he was reminding himself, and hurriedly stood up and saluted, saying: "Student remember it."

Although Wei Guangde has an official body but no official position, in such occasions, he can only call himself a student, and even the words "lower official" and "lowly position" cannot be used.

"At that time, I was a student Menglang, just hearing about the disaster in Shanxi and Shaanxi and the court's mismanagement, so I did such a thing, and I won't do it again in the future."

Wei Guangde hurriedly added.

"Sit down, don't be nervous, don't be so restrained."

Yintai smiled and waved him to sit down.

At this time, this year's top scholar Zhu Dashou and the second place Tao Dalin also came together, entered the house to pay homage to Yin Zhangyuan, and soon afterwards, the third place Jinda also arrived.

The three of them all held the posts of editors and compilers, so they were naturally not comparable to Wei Guangde.

The three of them paid their respects to the Dean Yin, and exchanged greetings with Wei Guangde.

After talking for a while in the public room, Yin Tai called the clerks to handle their entry procedures and assign them tasks.

Wei Guangde was a scholar, but Yin Tai had not yet considered assigning him to follow that scholar, and he still needed to discuss it with the scholars.

The Hanlin Academy had positions such as attendant reader, attendant lecturer, editor, editor, and reviewer, and later there were titles such as Doctor of the Five Classics, Classics, Attendant Book, and Waiting for the Imperial Edict, but these were all miscellaneous officials of the eighth and ninth ranks.

The Hanlin Academy did not plan to accept scholars this year, so naturally the existing scholars had not planned to bring anyone with them. In the past few days, Yin Tai had other things to do and did not have time to ask if anyone wanted Wei Guangde to go over to help, so he just arranged a public room for him and took some books from the library to read.

Although there are many positions in the Hanlin Academy, there is actually nothing much to do.

The attendant readers and attendant lecturers are responsible for publishing and editing classics, lecturing on classics and history for the emperor and the crown prince, and serving as consultants.

The editors are responsible for compiling national history, compiling records, recording the emperor's words and deeds, lecturing on classics and history, and drafting manuscripts related to ceremonies; the editors are responsible for compiling records, compiling the national history of the previous dynasty, records, and conferences; the reviewers are responsible for compiling national history and proofreading.

The Shujishi are the students of the attendant readers and attendant lecturers. They lecture on classics for the emperor and the crown prince, and the preparatory work is generally arranged for these Shujishi to do, looking through ancient books to find the source.

The attendant readers and attendant lecturers often also have the task of editing books, which is naturally done by Shujishi, copying and revising.

However, in this dynasty, because there is no crown prince, Emperor Jiajing does not often hold classics lectures, so naturally the scholars have nothing to do and can only edit books for fun, but there is no shortage of manpower.

Wei Guangde's position was naturally a bit awkward.

Wei Guangde had a premonition of such an environment early on. After all, he knew that there was no plan to select Shujishi this year, and it would take time to settle him, so he was not in a hurry.

Wei Guangde was led to his public housing. The clerk in charge was named Lu, Lu Bu, a very interesting name.

The public housing had been cleaned out early in the morning. Although there were many people in the Hanlin Academy, there were even more public housing.

Sitting at his desk, Wei Guangde drank the tea brought by Lu Bu and chatted with him casually to understand the situation in the Hanlin Academy.

These things were unknown to people outside the academy. It happened that he was free now, so Wei Guangde learned about the situation from Lu Bu.

"So, there are not many things in the Hanlin Academy, and everyone is still very idle?"

Wei Guangde asked for a long time and frowned.

"There are still some things to do in terms of editing, compiling and reviewing, but there is nothing else to do. Even the scholars often just look at the books they like to read and say to the outside world that they are editing books.

If they really want to edit a book seriously, it can only be edited by the emperor. After all, they will work hard to see the results after making efforts."

Fawning on the emperor, this is easy to understand.

If the emperor asks people to edit a book, they will naturally be rewarded and receive financial support after the editing.

"Then take me to the library tomorrow and I will find a few books to read first."

Wei Guangde ordered Lu Bu, "By the way, can I bring my own books in to read?"

"No prohibition."

Although he didn't know what book Wei Guangde wanted to read, the Hanlin Academy library was full of books and there was no shortage of books to read, but facing Wei Guangde's question, the clerk still answered.

"Does the government eat by yourself at noon or is there a canteen?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

"Usually, we eat by ourselves. The canteen has been closed for a long time. People don't want to eat the food there."

Lu Bu answered.

"There's one more thing."

Wei Guangde finally spoke out the question in his heart, "I've read the official system of the Ming Dynasty. How are the salaries of the Shujishi paid?"

Wei Guangde now only has an official title but no job. He wears a blue round-collar shirt but no patches. He feels a little out of place.

Even though Lao Kan and others who were watching the government dressed like this, their time was short, ranging from three to five months, or as long as one year before they were promoted to official positions. However, I had to stay in the Hanlin Academy for three years.

"Salary? The common people have no salary."

Lu Bu was stunned by Wei Guangde's question, and then said: "In the past, the adults who came to the Hanlin Academy did not receive any salary. They only received some subsidies from the ministries. They were transferred from each ministry. When the time comes, Master Wei will go directly to the academy. Just take it.”

"No salary? How much subsidy are there?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously.

"The Ministry of Household Affairs gives one tael of silver for lamp oil, the Ministry of Punishment and Shuntian Prefecture give one tael of silver for pen and ink, and Guanglu Temple subsidizes two and a half taels of silver, four and a half taels of silver per month. Others, such as this building, are considered subsidies from the Ministry of Works. They I am also responsible for repairs. I was sent here, and the salary was allocated by the Ministry of War. "

After listening to Lu Bu's words, Wei Guangde blinked, I only have an income of four or five taels of silver per month?

Is this enough money to eat and drink by yourself?

"Just a little money?"

Wei Guangde still doesn't believe it.

"It's quite a lot. It's almost the same as a seventh-grade official. It's better than an on-the-job official. At least I won't give you any treasure."

Lu Bu immediately said, "As far as I know, even the editor-in-chief receives only three taels of real silver as a monthly discount. He also has one stone of rice and some silk treasure notes, which are only worth more than five taels of silver. All you receive is cash."

"This is going to impoverish labor and capital."

Wei Guangde roared in his heart, no wonder officials want to be corrupt. According to this salary, what can a county official do with a few taels of silver per month?

After Lu Bu went out, Wei Guangde put his left hand on the table, supported his head, and began to meditate.

I was still thinking about buying a yard in the inner city, which was a waste.

The salary of the Ming Dynasty, four taels of silver per month was enough?

Wei Guangde had to reconsider buying a house. He only had more than two thousand taels of silver in his hand. He spent most of it to buy the yard. He only had a few hundred taels left in his hand. How long would he be able to stay in the capital?

Now Wei Guangde's monthly expenses are about dozens of taels, which does not include shopping and favors.

Book prices are very high these days. For a Taoist book with more than forty volumes, I dared to ask for one hundred taels of silver.

Well, if Wei Guangde buys a house in the capital, he will only have enough money left to buy a few more sets of books.

I don’t know if my letter has reached Jiujiang?

Wei Guangde's family letters were brought by businessmen who returned to Jiujiang. This was the role of the guild hall in these days. Anyone from Jiujiang in the capital could find the guild hall, and the guild hall would find the businessmen who returned to their hometown and bring the letters back.

I don’t know if my family will give me money, otherwise I really wouldn’t dare to buy this house, so I have to keep the money as a backup.

Although Wei Guangde estimates that his father will definitely prepare a sum of money for him, he has not received it yet, and he does not know how much it is, whether it is a few thousand taels or tens of thousands of taels.

No, then you can only buy a house first, and if you don’t have enough money, borrow some first. If your family doesn’t give you money, you can only wait for Zhang Hongfu to send the interest on the money released to the capital. Otherwise, you will be hungry in the past three years in the capital. Death is not an option.