Chapter 37 How about I personally arrange a marriage for you?
Shiqiao Village, Xiao Mo's courtyard.
Xiao Mo, who had just returned from the provincial examination, was making tea with the village chief.
After Bai Rushue returned to the village, she went back to the mountain to see her sister first.
However, at noon and in the evening, Bai Ruxue would still go down the mountain to cook and wash clothes for Xiao Mo.
"You said the last question of the policy essay is about the princes?"
The village chief drank a cup of tea and sounded a little surprised.
"Yes." Xiao Mo nodded.
"The princes nowadays do have great power, and they also hold military authority. Although I am only an old scholar, I have heard that there are strong voices in the court calling for the reduction of the power of the princes.
Although the last question of the policy essay is about discussing the feudal lords, everyone knows that the politically correct approach is to reduce the power of the feudal lords.
This last question has directly exposed the matter of the vassal king. It seems that His Majesty really wants to take action."
Xiao Mo smiled and said, "Who among the scholars participating in this provincial examination dares not to write about reducing the power of the feudal lords? I'm afraid the current emperor will also use the 'voice' of the scholars to deliberately put pressure on those feudal lords."
The village chief also smiled. "A year ago, Your Majesty personally led the army to quell the rebellion of the Seven Princes. The power of the vassal kings was greatly weakened. In addition, Your Majesty is now at the peak of his power. The military strength and morale of the court are overwhelming compared to the vassal kings in various places. It is indeed the best time to reduce the power of the vassal kings."
"That's right." Xiao Mo nodded.
Xiao Mo finally decided to write the "Enfeoffment Order" because he thought that although the princes had military power, His Majesty had quelled the rebellion of the Seven Princes, and the court had a huge military advantage over the local areas, and the princes were even more afraid of the court.
This time, the provincial examination clearly presented the "reduction of vassal states" on the test paper, which meant that the court was going to favor the vassal states.
Otherwise, how could the court allow scholars to discuss the vassal kings openly?
In fact, in Xiao Mo's opinion, even if the court did not dare to offend the vassal kings, even if the court's strength was in a stalemate with that of the vassal kings, it was not impossible for him to write the Enfeoffment Order.
If the central government's power is not strong, anyone with a discerning eye will know that the "Enfeoffment Order" cannot be implemented, but the examiners will not say anything.
This provides a different approach.
The examiner will only think that you "have ideas, which are novel, but not well considered."
However, even if you are not thoughtful enough, the examiner will still have a good impression of you.
how?
Do you really want a scholar who has only studied and has never spent a day in officialdom to govern the world?
"Xiao Mo, how did you answer this last question?"
The village chief was indeed very curious about how Xiao Mo answered the questions.
If nothing unexpected happens, the answer to this last question will greatly affect the examiner's impression of a candidate.
"I wrote..."
"Village chief! Village chief!"
Just when Xiao Mo was about to talk about his "Enfeoffment Order", Hu Hansan from the village hurried over.
"Village chief... outside... outside... "
Hu Hansan was out of breath and couldn't finish a complete sentence.
"Don't be anxious, tell me what happened outside." Looking at Hu Hansan's appearance, the village chief also became a little nervous.
"Village chief! Outside, the county magistrate! The county magistrate is here!" Hu Hansan said excitedly.
"County Magistrate?" The village chief was shocked. "Why is the County Magistrate coming to our village?"
"Pili-pang-lang, pili-pang-lang!"
“Bang, bang, bang!”
“Bang, bang, bang!”
At this moment, the sound of gongs and drums came from not far away.
There were also dragon and lion dances walking over while dancing.
The Qingshan County Magistrate, who was leading the group, beamed with joy. He fanned himself non-stop and shouted joyfully to those around him, "Don't stop! Keep playing, keep dancing! Louder! More lively!"
“Is it possible?”
Suddenly, the village chief's heartbeat began to accelerate, and a bold idea came to his mind.
The results will be announced tomorrow afternoon.
But today, county magistrates from all over Jiangnan Prefecture will receive the list.
In Qi, once the list came out of the Imperial Examination Hall, it was no longer a secret. County magistrates in various places could know the scholars on the list one day in advance.
The only one from Shiqiao Village who took part in the imperial examination was Xiao Mo.
The only reason the county magistrate could come to Shiqiao Village during this time and make it so festive, with drums and gongs and dragon and lion dances, was because of Xiao Mo.
"County Magistrate, that's Mo Ge'er. Next to Mo Ge'er is our village chief."
A man pointed at Xiao Mo and said excitedly.
County Magistrate Sun hurried towards Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo and the village chief were not ignorant of the situation. They also walked out of the courtyard and bowed, saying, "Greetings to the official."
"Hahaha, you two are welcome." County Magistrate Sun helped Xiao Mo up. "Mr. Xiao! No! Xiao Jieyuan! From now on, I will be riding on Xiao Jieyuan's coattails!"
"What? Jieyuan?" The village chief was a little dazed for a moment, and even suspected that he had heard it wrong.
The village chief originally thought that it was a great thing for Xiao Mo to pass the imperial examination.
As a result, Xiao Mo... was the top scorer in the Jiangnan Prefecture's provincial examination!
"County Magistrate Sun, you are too kind. If it weren't for your support, I would have had a hard time passing the imperial examination." Xiao Mo had never expected to win the first place in the provincial examination.
"Hahaha, Mr. Xiao was able to win the first place entirely because of his real talent and knowledge. I am just the icing on the cake."
Having said that, County Magistrate Sun was actually very proud.
Originally, County Magistrate Sun had just arrived and only wanted to win the favor of the local scholars and enhance his own reputation.
He also didn't really think that the talented students he sponsored would pass the exam.
As a result, not only did some people pass the imperial examination, they even won first place in the provincial examination!
This is a political achievement! A brilliant political achievement!
If nothing unexpected happens, Xiao Mo will definitely pass the next imperial examination successfully, and he may even be able to think about the title of top scholar!
That’s right, this young man was so calm when he found out that he had passed the imperial examination.
As expected, as someone who passed the imperial examination, his mind is extraordinary.
Mr. Fan from the next county was so happy when he learned that he had passed the imperial examination at the age of sixty that he almost went crazy.
When County Magistrate Sun saw Xiao Mo, it was like meeting a long-lost brother, and he became more and more excited as the conversation went on.
The village chief was also very sensible and took the other people in the village away, allowing the county magistrate and Xiao Mo to have a good talk.
County Magistrate Sun chatted with Xiao Mo about family matters, his parents, and his daily hobbies.
When County Magistrate Sun learned that Xiao Mo had no parents, herded cattle and collected herbs every day to make a living, and traveled hundreds of miles to become his disciple, regardless of the cold or heat, he admired this disciple who was not even from a poor family.
"Xiao Mo."
County Magistrate Sun held Xiao Mo's hand, his tone full of emotion.
"I am truly pleased that you have achieved what you have today, and I know you have endured a lot of hardships.
I have a daughter who is only 28 years old and is now waiting to be married.
If you don't mind, Xiao Mo, how about I, as Yue'er's father, personally act as a matchmaker for you?"
(End of this chapter)
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