Chapter 136
While it may be considered inappropriate language, Liu Gu's banned article could be considered a direct attack on the emperor, as it concerned the issue of conscription reform. The emperor's conscription reform was too ambitious; it solved the problem of insufficient soldiers on the borders, but it also emptied the national treasury, making even the imperial palace frugal. One can imagine how much money was lost.
With all the money in the national treasury being used for military expenses, other areas would naturally be stretched thin, inevitably causing some problems. It's no wonder that Feng Yinshou, the Minister of Revenue, was a powerful figure in the court, able to directly tell the emperor that there was no money. If it weren't for his meritorious management of funds as Minister of Revenue, the Great Qi would have been doomed by fiscal deficit several years ago.
The emperor was also lucky. During his many years on the throne, although the weather was not always favorable, there were no major natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes, which allowed the people to continue living.
Liu Gu's article was about this matter, and at the end, he used the past to satirize the present, mentioning that the Han dynasty inherited the Qin system and praised Empress Lü's laissez-faire rule, implying that the emperor should continue the policies of the Empress Dowager and not act arbitrarily.
Liu Gu had always harbored resentment about his imprisonment. After all, which scholar in the world didn't write satirical articles, and he wasn't the only one commenting on the emperor? Why was he the one who suffered such bad luck and wasted his life?
One day, he brought up the matter with Xue Jin'an, who immediately saw through the truth: "He only has so few achievements to show for himself, and you directly rejected them. You even used the Empress Dowager to pressure him. No wonder he's furious."
The emperor was the kind of person who could reverse the entire court's atmosphere in order to "surpass" the Empress Dowager. He could be a ninja turtle in everything else, but he absolutely did not want to hear the fact that the Empress Dowager's political achievements were better than his.
As a result, Liu Gu was imprisoned. If it weren't for his fame, he might not have been able to get out alive.
Minister Yang had some idea of what the emperor was thinking. After some deliberation, he removed Liu Gu's answer sheet, but unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager pointed it out again.
Before Minister Yang could figure out how to answer, the Empress Dowager directly instructed Lu Bingzhu to retrieve Liu Gu's answer sheet. Without even asking the Emperor, she made the decision: "This paper can earn the second-place finisher; let this one be the best."
And so, the rankings for this year's imperial examination were determined. The top scholar was Cui Zhuo from Jiangnan Prefecture, the second-place scholar was Liu Gu from Xiang'e Prefecture, the third-place scholar was Tan Lingyue from Jinyang Prefecture, and the honorary scholar was Liu Zheng from Jiangnan Prefecture. Du Yin and Tian Chengmin were also in the second rank, with their rankings neither too high nor too low.
After experiencing twists and turns he himself was unaware of, Liu Gu achieved the ranking he deserved, but also incurred the emperor's displeasure.
*
After the palace examination, the candidates rode through the streets on horseback, and the Qionglin Banquet was quite lively. Xue Jin'an found it too troublesome and did not go. He only heard that the eldest prince and the second prince were making friends everywhere at the Qionglin Banquet like butterflies. The second prince, in particular, was said to have even acted as a matchmaker, finding a suitable son-in-law for a minister, which made quite a splash.
The capital city remained relatively calm for the next few months.
When Xue Jin'an saw the five people again, it was already the sweltering heat of July. The emperor had taken his entourage to the summer palace to escape the heat, and Xue Jin'an, who was "confined," naturally stayed behind.
In the summer, Xue Jin'an didn't want to go out.
Long Aotian was very afraid of the heat. When he first transmigrated to the modern world, his cultivation was exhausted and his physique was extremely poor. He was afraid of both cold and heat. However, he was lucky enough to land in the south, where winter often failed to arrive. The temperature would suddenly rise after only a few days. Apart from rain and typhoon days being a bit annoying, he had a very comfortable winter and early spring.
Then came the exceptionally unbearable summer. Southern summers are long and hot, with forty degrees Celsius being the norm. Even the monthly electricity bill of four or five hundred yuan couldn't keep Long Aotian from leaving the air-conditioned room. This habit persisted. Even after Long Aotian regained his strength and his spiritual power protected him from the cold and heat, he would still spend the summer in the air-conditioned room.
It's the kind of long blanket that's set to 16 degrees Celsius.
Xue Jin'an, having become accustomed to air conditioning as his cell phone, is finally starting to feel out of place after being transported to ancient times for so long.
In ancient times, ice was used to cool down the temperature. The ice in the imperial palace was rationed. The princes received neither a lot nor a little, but it was definitely not enough for them to cool down to sixteen degrees Celsius and sleep under a blanket.
Xue Jin'an felt he should find a way to get ice. His first thought was to just steal the emperor's ice, which was a good idea. However, the emperor had gone to the summer palace, and his share of ice had also been sent there.
All the well-known ladies of the palace went to the summer palace, leaving only Consort Zhuang to manage the harem. Consort Zhuang had martial arts experts by her side, making it difficult to obtain her ice. As for the other concubines, their allowances were not even enough for themselves, so Xue Jin'an would not rob the poor to help the poor.
Moreover, requisitioning ice is only a temporary solution; the fundamental solution is to make ice in a controlled manner.
Xue Jin'an began searching his database. In the transmigration and infrastructure novels that Long Aotian had read, regardless of the protagonist's identity before transmigrating, salt making, sugar making, ice making, and gunpowder making were considered the four basic skills after transmigrating.
Xue Jin'an successfully retrieved the relevant data and casually organized it, putting it into an infrastructure folder, thinking it might come in handy someday.
The method has been found, and now it's time to start testing it.
Saltpeter is currently used for medical purposes. Yes, gunpowder exists now, but the most primitive gunpowder has limited damage and is now mainly used as fireworks. Some martial arts sects have developed thunderbolts, but these are also concealed weapons. They are used more for cover than to injure people, and when thrown, they produce mostly smoke without causing any harm.
The counterfeit version of the Thunderclap Ball is not easy to produce, but the damage it causes on the battlefield is not high. Therefore, warfare is still dominated by cold weapons. The most lethal weapon is the crossbow, and the most powerful crossbow can kill people from a kilometer away. Naturally, national military research is still aimed at building better crossbows.
Of course, current smelting technology is still not up to par. Even if a powerful gunpowder were produced, it would be temporarily shelved because the corresponding carrier material could not be produced.
Although gunpowder was not yet used for military purposes, the state restricted its civilian use. If the purchase exceeded a certain limit, even if no accident occurred, the government would come to question the customer. It was a controlled substance and not cheap.
Of course, things that are difficult to buy and sell outside can be found in the palace. The Imperial Hospital has saltpeter, and the little spy that Fulu planted is already Hu Yuanzheng's junior medicine boy, just one step away from becoming his apprentice. Getting some saltpeter is no problem for him.
Xue Jin'an had mentioned wanting saltpeter in the morning, and after breakfast, the item was already on the table.
Xue Jin'an followed the steps to conduct the experiment of making ice with saltpeter, but the results were somewhat unsatisfactory.
It can indeed make ice, but Wangwang Ice Cream directly had Lingzhi make shaved ice, and it tasted quite good.
Xue Jin'an thought that there might not be enough saltpeter. Taking a little saltpeter from the Imperial Hospital would be fine, but taking too much would expose them. It wasn't easy for Fulu'an to get someone in, so Xue Jin'an didn't make things difficult for them. He directly asked Cui Zui to use his connections to buy some saltpeter and then went to Jiutianyi to conduct experiments.
The Nine-Add-One Inn had many guests, mostly high-ranking officials and nobles, who stockpiled a lot of ice. The temperature in the room was even lower than that of Zhaoyang Palace. However, no matter how wealthy they were, seeing the daily ice expenditure still made the innkeeper's heart ache.
When the shopkeeper learned that the young master was coming to make ice, he was so happy that he wanted to go for a run. He wasn't afraid of offending anyone and stopped everyone who wanted to befriend the young master from doing so.
No one can stop the young owner from making ice!
The shopkeeper was slapped in the face as soon as he made up his mind.
The group of five arrived. Although their demeanor and appearance were completely different from before, the shopkeeper still recognized them as the people who had come to find the young master with their exam papers during the imperial examinations in March.
The shopkeeper had also paid special attention to them, and had witnessed the grand spectacle of the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) riding through the streets on horseback. He knew that they were now all officials, and even recognized Tan Lingyue, the junior Tanhua (third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations).
These people had a past with the young master, so when asked about him, he didn't hide anything. After asking the young master, he sent the group to a private room.
In fact, this was the first time the five of them had all gathered together in four months since the imperial examination.
It's not their fault; they just happened to be taking the exam at the wrong time.
The triennial imperial examinations have ended. Those who failed packed their belongings and returned home to prepare for the next examination. Those who succeeded also returned home in glory. Those who were confirmed to be serving in the capital had to move their entire families to the capital. After all, officials were evaluated every three years, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would stay in the capital for at least three years. Those who needed to be appointed as county magistrates had to wait for the court to issue official documents before moving their entire families to their posts.
Many of the students who took the exam at the same time will never see each other again after this separation.
The five of them were in a slightly better position, as they all stayed in the capital. The difference was that Tan Lingyue, Liu Zheng, and Liu Gu were serving as officials in the capital, while Du Yin and Tian Chengmin were waiting for their appointments.
In reality, only a small number of those who passed the imperial examinations could become officials. There were only so many official positions available, and it was a one-to-one situation. Many people, even if they passed the examinations, could not become officials and could only wait for vacancies year after year. The longer the wait, the more hopeless the situation became. Many people waited their whole lives but never got a position.
Du Yin and Tian Chengmin were two of those who were absent from their posts.
Du Yin's situation was much better. After all, he came from the Du family, the same Du as Du Zhongting, the husband of the eldest princess. Even though the main branch was not as successful as the collateral branches, and the relationship between the Du family in Huaibei and the Du family in the capital was somewhat strained, they were still from the same ancestor. Du Yin also had the title of top scholar in the provincial examination, and his ranking in the palace examination was not too bad. The patriarch of the Du family in the capital was serving as a vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel, so he was still willing to give him some face and help him get a position as a county magistrate in a prosperous area.
Du Yin wasn't a haughty or stubborn person, but he couldn't let go of his friend and wanted to help Tian Chengmin get an official position.
Tian Chengmin came from a peasant family and did not rank well in the provincial and palace examinations, barely qualifying as a second-class Jinshi. He was also a big, burly man who did not fit the aesthetic of a scholar at all. Moreover, he was too poor to use connections. If nothing unexpected happened, he would basically have no chance of getting an official position.
Although Tian Chengmin was depressed, he took it in stride and didn't think much of it. On the contrary, Du Yin couldn't bear to see him waste his opportunity. Although it didn't seem like it, Tian Chengmin was actually the second youngest of the five of them, only in his early twenties. If Du Yin had married earlier, he could have had him already.
Moreover, Tian Chengmin had done some research on literature and had many ideas. He had a deep understanding of farmland. When he was studying in his hometown, the land he cultivated was better than others', and his income was 20% higher. He also taught the villagers how to farm for free. In short, Du Yin felt that such a person was a pillar of the country and should not be buried.
When Liu Gu and Tan Lingyue, who were already working in the Hanlin Academy, learned of this, they also helped to find connections. Liu Zheng, who was busy doing odd jobs in the Ministry of Revenue and didn't show up, sent a hundred taels of silver through someone and told them to come to him if they needed money to smooth things over.
However, four months passed quietly, and Du Yin and Tian Chengmin were still in the capital. They knew that this matter would not be easy to handle. Du Yin was somewhat discouraged. Coincidentally, the other four people's first experience in officialdom was also not very good. They had a lot to complain about, so the five of them gathered together again.
It's not easy for the five of them to get together, so they wanted to find a meaningful place to relax, and naturally, they came to Nine Plus One.
Then I saw the whole process of Xue Jin'an making ice. Watching this amazing scene, all my worries were instantly forgotten.
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