Chapter 242: The Capital's Counterattack (I)
There would be a month between the end of the exam and the announcement of the results. Gao Pang was only thinking about taking the exam seriously, and he did not expect to pass. At this point, he had fulfilled his wish, so he told his companions that he would leave the capital before the results were announced.
The people who came to take the exam didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but they still hesitantly asked Gao Pang to stay.
Gao Pang did not think that he was not strong enough to pass the imperial examination, but he had some self-awareness in his confidence. After another ten or eight years of hard study, he might be able to pass the first place under Huo Chong's guidance. As for now, Lord Lu had already made it clear that this special examination was specially opened for Manchus, and only the first and third place were left for Han people. Instead of wasting so much time in the capital, it would be better for everyone to do their own things.
Seeing Gao Pang's firm attitude, the others could only reluctantly say that they wanted to stay in the capital for a few more days. They even invited Gao Pang to meet the local officials of Zhenjiang.
Gao Pang was not a native of Zhenjiang, but a native of Jiaozhou. However, he thought this was a good reason. Before joining Huo Chong, he could meet the locals and see what kind of person his future opponent would be.
Lord Lu has already seen it, and other officials south of Zhenjiang can know it by going to the Jiangnan Guild Hall. Gao Pang has been concentrating on studying during this period and has not been there. When he was taken to the guild hall by several other brothers, he saw that the people in the guild hall were very familiar with these brothers, because when they first met Gao Pang, they were very unfamiliar with him.
After introducing each other and hearing that they were all disciples of Mr. Banshan, everyone became closer.
After talking for a while, Gao Pang was really curious, so he asked in a low voice what kind of situation Huo Chong had caused when he came to Beijing. When the brothers in the guild heard such a question, they showed a look of lingering fear on their faces, "Brother Gao, there was a chaos in the capital that day. Huo Chong, the villain, colluded with the Tianli Sect to kill people everywhere, and we didn't dare to go out too far. Afterwards, the snow in the capital was full of corpses. When the snow melted, many bloodstains were still on the ground."
When the candidates from Zhenjiang heard such a tragic description, their expressions and reactions were a bit exaggerated. Gao Pang thought it was normal. He had seen the battlefield and knew what it was like. Gao Pang even commanded the battle unconsciously and killed dozens of Mongolian cavalrymen who slaughtered Shandong people. Gao Pang couldn't help but ask: "Are all the dead officials and the Eight Banners? Are there any people from the capital?"
Hearing this question, the brothers in the guild hall opened their eyes unconsciously, and were surprised for a long time before asking with a sympathetic heart: "Brother Gao, the emperor has been killed."
"Yes." Gao Pang quickly responded with an attitude of knowing how powerful he was. After dealing with it, Gao Pang listened to other people talking about Enke's affairs, and decided in his heart that he really had to leave as soon as possible.
The question just now was what Gao Pang really cared about. Huo Chong had said that there were only two kinds of people who could defeat the beast-eating demons - one was a true hero, and the other was a more evil and ferocious demon. Gao Pang really wanted to know if Huo Chong would become a beast that didn't care about human life after leaving Shandong.
From Gao Pang's perspective, or even from the perspective of what Gao Pang believes to be the way of the saints, discussing this issue is very valuable and meaningful. However, from the perspective of the Qing Dynasty, caring about whether the common people suffered losses before caring about the life and death of the emperor is a kind of sin, even a serious sin.
As Huo Chong said, the Qing Dynasty wanted running dogs, and Gao Pang, who could see this clearly, was unwilling to be a dog for others. At this time, if he stayed with the Qing Dynasty, he would only end up dead.
But this group of brothers in the same field dragged Gao Pang to visit the Jinshi from Zhenjiang one after another. In the next seven or eight days, Gao Pang also met them one by one. These people are quite smart, with the familiarity and elegance of scholars, and they quote classics in their conversations, which is worthy of the style of scholars.
Compared with these literati, Huo Chong's rough and uncultured subordinates were like a clear spring, and their joys, sorrows, anger and happiness could be seen at a glance. Although they were crude and shallow, they were full of vitality. They cried bitterly when their relatives died, and they were fearless in battle. At least, these people would never turn a blind eye to the Qing Dynasty, nor would they be so afraid of war that they dare not talk about it.
This was something Gao Pang could not understand at all. Huo Chong went to Beijing and killed the emperor, and then he devoted himself to managing the country. Didn't the officials know that a disaster was coming?
This should be the most urgent matter at the moment, but the officials showed their calmness and composure during the meeting, but did not mention Huo Chong at all, as if Huo Chong did not exist. Or did they think that if they did not mention Huo Chong, he would not exist?
After visiting all the officials in Zhenjiang, ten days had passed since the exam. Gao Pang started to pack his bags. Just as he finished packing, a guest arrived. Seeing that it was Lord Lu, the others hurried to greet him. Lord Lu wanted to speak but was embarrassed. He looked at the people around him and saw that Gao Pang had already prepared the gifts. He immediately came over and asked, "Brother Gao, are you leaving?"
"Haha, the imperial examination is over, of course we have to leave." Gao Pang said with a smile.
"I heard that this time the examination papers will be judged in less than half a month. By the way, Brother Gao, you will be writing for half a month. This is fate, so why not wait for half a month?"
Gao Pang knew his state of mind at the moment. Since he had already decided to leave, if he stayed, he was afraid that others would see through him. So he simply used what Lord Lu had said to prevaricate, "Lord Lu, I don't think I have any talent. Staying here will only add to my sadness."
"Tomorrow. I will take Brother Gao to see an elder tomorrow. After the meeting, Brother Gao can decide whether to leave or wait."
Lord Lu said it so bluntly that Gao Pang felt that something was wrong. An indescribable intuition seemed to remind Gao Pang that if something went wrong, it would be better to avoid it.
At this time, Old Thirteen handed the list to Hong Zhou, along with the basic information of all the candidates who took the palace examination.
The ninety-one Manchus all had good backgrounds, and several of them were descendants of meritorious and famous families who had followed Nurhaci to conquer the world. Hong Zhou knew the backgrounds and family histories of these people without Old Thirteen telling him specifically.
Old Thirteen was both happy and distressed. It was definitely not a blessing from heaven that he could be so clear. Looking at Hong Zhou's dark circles, Old Thirteen knew that Hong Zhou had spent a lot of time and effort to remember all the important people in the court, so he could be so clear at this time.
A teenager has to work so hard for state affairs, and this is just the beginning. Old Thirteen wanted to say something, but seeing Hong Zhou's calm expression, he could only harden his heart and let the child make the decision.
"Uncle Thirteen, are there only ninety-one people?" Hong Zhou asked.
"Yes. Sun Jiagan is the chief examiner and has read every test paper. Given Sun Jiagan's personality, we can trust him."
"Uncle Thirteen, not even a hundred are enough?" Hong Zhou's voice was full of confusion.
"Quite a few people did not participate in the Enke." There was an anger in Old Thirteen's voice that was hard to hide.
Hong Zhou did not continue the topic, "Uncle Thirteen, there are nine Han people left. Do we have to choose from these thirty people?"
