Chapter 470 469 Counting with Fingers

In the palace examination of Renxu, the name of Yan Song, the Prime Minister of the dynasty, was not included in the list of examiners. How could this be possible?

Wei Guangde's brain was calculating rapidly at this time, thinking about the meaning of it.

But the next moment, he felt that his hand was empty, and the note had been snatched away by Yin Shizeng.

"How could it be possible that Yan Song is really not there?"

Wei Guangde looked up and saw Yin Shizeng constantly turning the note over and over, as if he wanted to see the name of the person from the back corner, and he kept muttering.

After a while, Yin Shizeng finally calmed down. It was mainly because he and Wei Guangde were not dazzled at the same time, so there was really no Yan Song, the Prime Minister, among the examiners this time.

What Wei Guangde didn't know was that the news spread like wildfire throughout the major government offices in the capital, and many people didn't believe it when they first heard the news.

The meaning behind this was too obvious. This seemed to be a precursor to Yan Song's loss of power. It seemed that there was no news before.

When did Yan Song offend Emperor Jiajing?

No one knew.

Many people immediately sent their clerks to confirm the list of officials who read the papers. In fact, they didn't need to check it because after the decree was issued, the angels in the palace notified the people on the decree. They were also nominal supervisors. The officials on the list could only live in the government office temporarily and were not allowed to go home.

"Dad, this is a sign that His Majesty is going to take action."

After hearing the news, Yan Shifan hurried into the cabinet Yan Song's duty room, sent the clerk out, and stood guard outside. Only he and his son were in the room.

"As long as His Majesty doesn't know about the little tricks you are doing behind the scenes, our family will be fine."

Yan Song sat in his seat in a daze, answering Yan Shifan's words.

He had thought of this day countless times, but when the signal came out, he felt that he still couldn't calm down in his heart. Even though he was already over 80 years old and had seen the world's coldness, he still couldn't be open-minded.

"Of course, your Majesty won't know."

Yan Shifan also knew that he seemed to be half a step late. His father had just asked for grace from the Majesty and exempted him from mourning. He didn't expect that it would be in less than half a year.

It was impossible to say that he was not panicked at all, but Yan Shifan still pretended to be calm at this time and said: "Dad, before coming here, I had someone spread the news that my father was unwell and asked for grace and would not participate in this reading."

Yan Song raised his eyes and looked at Yan Shifan, and nodded slightly.

Whether others believe it or not, at least there is a reason not to.

"In a while, or later, I'm afraid that many people will come to see Dad."

Yan Shifan said again.

"I know."

Yan Song and his son certainly knew who would come. They were the officials of the Yan Party as the outside world said. I think they should be very panicked at this time.

Why did they join Yan Song's door? Wasn't it because he was favored and held huge power, which could provide convenience and official support for their promotion?

Once Yan Song fell, there was no doubt that they would face a counterattack from the people they had oppressed in the past. Without the protection of Yan Ge Lao, they really had no confidence to resist.

"This day will come after all."

Yan Song just said lightly.

"Well, don't think too much, Yan Ge Lao is in poor health. After all, he is so old. It is normal to ask for grace from his father."

In the Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu sat on the upper seat and smiled.

Just now, someone spread rumors that the reason why Yan Ge Lao was not the examiner of the palace examination was because Yan Ge Lao was old and felt that he could not handle this job, so he took the initiative to resign.

"Hehe."

Yin Shizan and others sitting below were all smiling and didn't say much.

What happened? Although everyone had many doubts in their hearts, no one dared to go to the cabinet or Xiyuan to ask.

However, the rumors came out so quickly to explain the matter, and everyone always felt that there was something unusual.

"Who do you think is most likely to win the top prize in this palace examination?"

Prince Yu changed the subject at this time.

Every year when the imperial examinations came, the focus of attention in the capital was naturally on who could win the title of champion, and who would win the title in the end.

Not only did the officials discuss this all the time, but the people were also eager to get involved.

It wasn't that the people were really interested in the champion, after all, it belonged to someone else. The reason they cared was because of the gambling houses in the streets and alleys of the capital. At this time, most of them would set a handicap for this, allowing gamblers to bet on winning or losing, which naturally attracted the attention of the people.

It didn't need to be much. For the matter of betting on the champion, the people and gamblers were naturally willing to try their luck. A few taels, dozens of taels, or even hundreds of taels of silver were not too much for people, and a few or dozens of copper coins were not too little for people, just as a fun thing.

Although the income of the people in the capital could not be said to be the best in other places in the Ming Dynasty, it was also relatively high.

As long as you are willing to work, you can still earn a few taels of silver a year. As long as you don't waste and have places to spend money, you can always have some two or three taels of silver left after a year, which is thousands of copper coins, so the enthusiasm for betting is naturally high.

"It should be the two from Suzhou."

When Yin Shizhen heard Prince Yu ask who was most likely to win the title of No. 1, he immediately said with a smile.

Prince Yu was a good person, but there were two things that people criticized him for, which were lust and gambling.

Every time there was such a gambling game in the capital, he would ask someone to get involved. He didn't act as the banker himself, but asked Gao Gong and his subordinates to help analyze it, and then sent people to the gambling houses outside to place bets.

When King Yu asked about it at this time, needless to say, he would definitely ask someone to place a bet later.

Yin Shizhen didn't know whether this was considered a joy between the royal family and the people.

As for the two people in Suzhou Prefecture he mentioned, they naturally refer to the two people who achieved the best results in this examination and were the most valued by people. They are Wang Xijue of Taicang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili and Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili. Xu Shixing.

By winning the title of Huiyuan, Wang Xijue at least took the lead in the battle for the No. 1 pick. He was half a body ahead. However, among the scholars in the capital, there were not a few who were optimistic about Xu Shixing. The last person remains unpredictable.

Wang Xijue and Xu Shixing. Wei Guangde only had a vague impression of these two names. Wang Xijue should be a person with some fame in the Ming Dynasty. The name Xu Shixing just felt familiar, but he really couldn't remember who won the number one title.

After Yin Shizhen answered the call and began to analyze the pros and cons of the two, and soon Zhang Juzheng and Tang Ruji also participated, Wei Guangde sat quietly in his seat, put his left hand in his sleeve and started counting with his fingers.

The index finger is Wang Xijue, and the middle finger is Xu Shixing.

Wei Guangde thought in his mind, put his thumb on his index finger, and silently counted the word "number one scholar" in his mind, and then his thumb began to move between the two fingers.

In fact, Taoism talks about counting with the fingers, and in later film and television works, those who have mastered Taoism stretch out their right hands and count with the fingers to know the good or bad. In fact, the techniques in the play are wrong.

According to Taoist pinching, each hand has fourteen joints, and the two hands have a total of 28 joints, representing the 28 underground palaces.

The left hand is yin and the right hand is yang. To pinch your fingers, you usually use your thumb to pinch the remaining four fingers. The four fingers actually represent the ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches. There are also many types of gestures, and both hands are used. Use it.

Wei Guangde is not a member of the orthodox Taoist sect. He has seen these things from the Taoist books he bought and remembered them, but he has not studied them in depth, let alone studied them carefully.

At this time, just choose the simple method, so that you can at least confirm your position.

Soon, the thumb rests on the middle finger.

Xu Shixing?

Wei Guangde counted the results with his fingers, and there was a high probability that Xu Shixing would be the top candidate in the imperial examination.

At this time, King Yu also noticed Wei Guangde who had been sitting there silently, so he smiled and said to him: "Shandai, what do you think, is Wang Xijue or Xu Shixing more likely to win the top prize?"

Previously, Yin Shizhen and others had expressed their respective positions. Yin Shizhen and Tang Ruji were interested in Wang Xijue, while Zhang Juzheng was more optimistic about Xu Shixing.

In fact, after taking the exam, there is no doubt about the talents of both of them. It just depends on who has better luck in the end.

As for Yu Youding, Qi Yuanzuo and others behind them, no one paid attention to them.

Therefore, their so-called positions are actually more judgments based on personal feelings.

Wei Guangde calculated with his fingers that Xu Shixing won the first prize. It seemed that if he said it, the total score would be 2 to 2, which would probably make King Yu depressed.

Wei Guangde did not participate in such a meeting in the 38th year of Jiajing's reign. He only heard Gao Gong mention it. Anyway, King Yu lost two hundred taels of silver in a bet that time.

King Yu is indeed very democratic and can listen to what the people below him say.

"Your Highness, I am optimistic about Xu Shixing."

At this time, Wei Guangde still said his answer loudly, but visible to the naked eye, Prince Yu's face became a little darker.

In the previous situation, the balance in King Yu's heart had already tipped towards Wang Xijue, but now he asked himself, well, he didn't know who to bet on who would win.

In King Yu’s view, scholars should know best about scholars’ matters.

Although he had failed to guess the top pick several times before, King Yu was still very enthusiastic about this matter and still believed in his officials.

After all, they were people who were killed out of thousands of troops, and they were sent to him by his father. They must all be people he thought were capable.

Therefore, despite repeated defeats, he still chose to fight again and again. In order to recover his losses, he doubled the money he spent on the No. 1 pick each time.

In his opinion, it doesn't matter if you lose once or twice, as long as the bet is enough, and if you win once, you will get it all back.

And he just has this capital.

The last time he bet on the No. 1 pick, he bet 200 taels. This time he made up his mind to bet 500 taels of silver, hoping to make back his capital with profits.

King Yu hesitated, whether he should bet on Wang Xijue or Xu Shixing.

"What's the reason?"

King Yu asked unwillingly.

Wei Guangde chuckled and said, "Your Highness, at this time, both Wang Xijue and Xu Shixing are capable of winning the first prize. As for who has the last laugh, that is His Majesty's will."

"bet"

In the end, King Yu did not say that the bet was really based on Emperor Jiajing's wishes, although this was not considered speculation.

"Your Highness, do you know the origin of Xu Shixing?"

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly spoke.

He was a troublemaker. When Wei Guangde said this, he became more optimistic about Xu Shixing. The reason was naturally that Xu Shixing really had an extraordinary experience.

King Yu also became interested when he heard this, "Tell me about it."

"There are two rumors. One is that Xu Shixing's surname was Shen. His ancestor was a wealthy businessman in Suzhou. His family declined and his parents died one after another. Therefore, he was adopted by his uncle Xu's family, so he changed his surname to Xu.

Secondly, Xu Shi's family was originally from a poor family. His ancestors wanted him to survive, so he was adopted by a family named Xu.

The similarity between the two rumors is that Xu Shixing's real surname is Shen, which should be correct. "

Zhang Juzheng said that he would keep silent here. After all, it is not good to talk too much about other people's privacy, as it would give people the impression of gossiping behind others' backs.

Wei Guangde heard this rumor for the first time and looked at Zhang Juzheng in surprise.

He had enough things to worry about these days, so he had no time to inquire about the experiences of those who would be on the list this time.

"Xu Shixing, Shen Shixing"

Wei Guangde just muttered it a few times and couldn't remember whether the name in his mind was Xu or Shen.

Well, he was confused.

"Speaking of it, our Jiajing Dynasty is really true, haha."

Before King Yu could say anything, Yin Shizhen started laughing at the side.

"What's wrong?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously. He didn't understand what Yin Shizhen meant.

"The thing about Mr. Lu Ge, when Mr. Lu Ge was taking the imperial examination, Li Ben was still recorded in the imperial examination. It was not until after the imperial examination that the restored surname was given.

However, his surname was mistakenly listed as Li in the map. In fact, their family name was Lu.

It is not easy to change the map. It involves the entire county, the prefecture, the Chief Envoy, and the Ministry of Household Yellow Register. Therefore, even if Mr. Lu Ge is admitted to the imperial examination, he can still only register as Li Ben, and take the examination with the surname Li. In the palace examination, he failed to pass the imperial examination and was honored as a Jinshi, so he submitted a petition to change the records and restore his original surname. "

Yin Shizhen said with a smile.

"Speaking of this, I actually know one person who also changed his surname."

Zhang Juzheng also became interested in chatting about gossip.

"Who is it?" King Yu asked curiously, "And why did you change your surname?"

Changing a surname was not a trivial matter in ancient times. What did the rangers always say, "If you don't change your name, you won't change your surname."

At the end of "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the Five Emperors", the name system of the Five Emperors era is recorded.

"From the Yellow Emperor to Shun and Yu, they all had the same surname, but they had different national titles to highlight their respective virtues. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor was named Youxiong, the Emperor Zhuanxu was named Gaoyang, the Emperor Ku was named Gaoxin, and the Emperor Ku was named Gao Xin. Yao's name was Tao Tang, Emperor Shun's name was Youyu, Emperor Yu's name was Xia Hou, and another surname was Si.

It can be seen from this that surnames represent morality, and people have surnames out of their expectations for people's morality.

In the traditional concept, children are born not because their parents have the right to name them, but for the moral inheritance of the family. Without a surname, there is no moral basis. To deny a surname is to deny one's own morality and the family. inherited.

"Liu Xian, the camp officer and governor of Nanjing, heard that his real surname was Gong, and he was a fellow villager in Heshandai. He should be from Nanchang Prefecture. When he was living in Sichuan, he received the favor of the censor named Liu and changed his surname to Liu. He also pretended to be from Sichuan to participate in martial arts examinations. He was able to join the army because of his strong martial arts skills and his career as a martial artist rose step by step. "

Zhang Juzheng said with a smile.