Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 274: The Dark Side of the Bingchen Examination (Part 3)
The Song brothers were landowners in Jiangxi. Although it was inconvenient to do things in their hometown because they lacked an official to support their family, they could still live a comfortable life. Therefore, in terms of history, the two brothers could travel around the country and waste twelve years on the imperial examinations. Song Yingxing could also spare a lot of time to read various miscellaneous books and study various natural sciences according to his own heart and interests.
But for Sun Chuanting, who was only 23 years old that year, the imperial examination had a completely different meaning for him.
As a military household of Zhenwuwei in Datong Town, Shanxi Province, Sun Chuanting lived in a military town of the Ming Dynasty since he was a child, and naturally he was interested in military affairs. However, the status of military households was so low that he had to suppress his interest and try his best to study and take the imperial examination in order to change his fate.
In 1615, he passed the provincial examination in Shanxi and became a juren. Although the provincial examination was held in August, the results were announced in September. Therefore, generally speaking, new juren from all over the country who planned to continue to participate in the metropolitan examination usually set off for Beijing in September or October - it was very necessary to arrive at the metropolitan examination site early, see the scenery of the capital, expand their network, and polish their essays with talented people from all over the country.
The itinerary of the Song brothers was just like this, and what about Sun Chuanting?
Tian Ergeng is really worried about this guy.
It is true that he is a member of the Imperial Guard, but because of this, he cannot openly mobilize a large number of people to inquire about the movements of a candidate - what do you want to do? Missed a question?
However, this guy didn't get any information until February 3, the day when Zhu Youdong met the Song brothers in Fangshan Laboratory.
"Still no news from Shanxi Guild Hall?"
"Commander, I have been guarding there the whole time. As of an hour ago, I have not received any news that Sun Chuanting has checked in."
"And his fellow countrymen?"
"Well, Commander, in the past ten years, the Daizhou Zhenwu Guard has only produced one scholar, Sun Chuanting. So..."
"TMD!" Tian Ergeng, who succeeded Wang Zhizhen last year and became the real number one in the Jinyiwei, has generally lived a comfortable life in recent years: the crown prince is completely different from the previous emperors, and uses the Jinyiwei openly and aboveboard. The commander of the Jinyiwei can also sit in the meeting hall of the State Council and listen to and express opinions on national affairs. This is the treatment that many commanders have dreamed of!
However, the relationship between Wang Kun, the head of the main business competitor Dongchang, and the Crown Prince was much worse than their own, so over the years, the Jinyiwei had been slowly suppressing Dongchang.
All these things often made him secretly happy at night: I am probably the happiest commander of the Jinyiwei in the history of the Ming Dynasty, except Lu Bing? No, although Zhongcheng Bo is the milk brother of Shi Miao, he is still suppressed by Yan Song. Although the court controlled by the grandson is not harmonious, no one can cover the sky with one hand.
Therefore, I should be the commander who enjoys his job the most.
But the more this happened, the more he wanted to get things done.
This time, the Crown Prince personally instructed that he wanted to meet the two candidates before the joint examination. He immediately reacted: These two might be very talented and will be of great use to the Crown Prince in the future. They will be his important ministers and colleagues!
You have to establish good relationships in advance.
On the issue of the Song brothers, he did not look down on Song Yingsheng because he was just a bonus. Instead, he gave his subordinates a large sum of public funds and asked them to take care of the two brothers equally. After the crown prince revealed his identity and met the two brothers, he also secretly met with the two brothers in the name of "confidential training", and then naturally entertained them with good wine, good food and good women... In short, everyone was very happy!
But this Sun Chuanting...
Oh, it's already February 4th, and the exam will start on the 9th! After entering Beijing, candidates have to report to the Ministry of Rites, verify their identities, etc., which takes a lot of time. How come they haven't arrived yet?
Didn’t this guy die on the road?
This is not really a curse from Tian Ergeng, but in this era, it is normal for a person to leave his hometown and travel a long distance, die of illness or be killed in the wilderness. In addition, the Ming Dynasty has always been financially tight, so there is no public transportation treatment for candidates to go to Beijing for the imperial examination like the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, every three years, there are candidates who are unable to take the exam due to illness, death and many other reasons. It is really normal.
But Zhu Youdong is a time traveler. He may not remember other people, but he remembers Sun Chuanting very clearly!
Although many contents in the Ming History compiled by the Qing Dynasty cannot be trusted, and the records starting from the Wanli Dynasty are full of lies. However, since Sun Chuanting basically never fought against the Later Jin Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, the overall description of Sun Chuanting in the Ming History is relatively objective. Although the sentence "Chuanting died, and the Ming Dynasty fell" is definitely exaggerated, it is indeed extremely shocking.
Zhu Youdong certainly has a deep memory of such people.
He clearly remembered that, in the historical perspective, this handsome and talented young man passed the imperial examination at the age of 22. Then, when he confidently took part in the imperial examination in 1616, he found that his essay was far inferior to those of other talented people across the country, so he failed without any suspense.
Even after returning home to study hard for three years, he was only ranked 41st among the top three Jinshi in the imperial examination of 1619 (by the way, the 40th among the top three that year was Yuan Chonghuan).
Therefore, this person would never die on the road! Tian Ergeng, find him for me quickly!
"Alas, there is no other way." Tian Ergeng, who had been trying to build a relationship with the candidate favored by the prince, became anxious after being repeatedly urged by Zhu Youdong: "Go to Shuntian Prefecture and report that a noble's valuables are missing. The Jinyiwei will set up checkpoints at all major traffic routes into Beijing!"
"yes!"
"In addition, our people will focus on checking people entering the capital from the west and north. The person we are looking for is a young man in his twenties, with an imposing appearance and a good appearance. He speaks with a northern Shanxi accent. If he claims to be a candidate who came to the capital to take the imperial examination, then he must be the right one. Capture him first and send him directly to the Northern Pacification Office!"
"I obey your command!"
What happened to Sun Chuanting? Nothing serious, just one reason: he was poor.
His ancestors were from Henan and were relocated to Shanxi during the Hongwu reign to become military households. After more than 200 years of accumulation, the Sun family still had some assets in the local area.
However, disasters have occurred repeatedly in the northern part of the Ming Dynasty in recent years, and farmland production has decreased significantly. In addition, the Sun family had to support Sun Chuanting's studies, so it was actually difficult for the Sun family to continue.
Although after passing the imperial examination, some local people will naturally come to seek refuge. But the problem is that Zhenwuwei is an important border town. Most of the land here is military land - senior officers will not seek refuge with a juren like you. Therefore, the land collected is actually very limited. What's more, it will take time for the collected land to generate benefits.
In short, Sun Chuanting, who had little money in his pocket, had no choice but to go to Beijing on time for the imperial examination - it was not easy to live in the imperial capital. This statement was true in any era.
Then, he was finally captured by Tian Ergeng's men on the sixth day of February.
…
"Hey, Sun Xiaolian, you are really hard to find."
"Who are you? How dare you rob me on the road? I am a Shanxi candidate who is going to Beijing to take the exam this year. If you delay my exam, can you afford the consequences?"
"Huh? We actually caught a candidate? Oh, this is not going to be easy. How about we just kill him here?"
"Hmph! In this world, the Crown Prince is the regent. The world is getting better and better, and you dare to do such evil things? My death is not a pity, but I'm afraid that your whole family will be buried with me soon!"
"Hahahaha~~~" After a burst of laughter, Sun Chuanting, whose eyes were previously blindfolded and were extremely uncomfortable with the sudden change from darkness to light, heard another voice in his ears: "What do you think? Ergeng, this guy is quite brave, right?"
"Very good, Your Highness. I see that this man's limbs are also strong and powerful. It is said that the children took some effort to capture him. It seems that this man's martial arts are also good. In short, although I have been busy for a long time on this matter, after meeting this man, I think it is worth it."
Your Highness? Er Geng?
After his eyes gradually adjusted to the light, Sun Chuanting moved his limbs, which were numb from being tied up for too long, and then looked straight over .
Well, this was in a prison. In this room, there were only him, a teenager, and two sturdy men in their thirties.
Although this young man is dressed in ordinary clothes, his graceful and confident look and noble aura make him look like the person who was called "Your Highness" in the darkness just now, right?
As for those two big men, judging from Sun Chuanting's experience of hanging out with the border troops, they were both masters with extremely strong personal abilities.
"Sun Xiaolian, I feel helpless to have you come to meet me in this way, and this first meeting is in this imperial prison. But why did you come so late?"
"Student... Student Sun Chuanting, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! I came to Beijing too late because my family is too poor and I don't have enough money. I dare not stay in Beijing for too long."
"Hahahaha~~ Sun Xiaolian, please stand up. Come, I will have a good talk with you."
…
"I don't know why your Highness knows my humble name. Your Highness's kindness, I am deeply grateful! From now on, I will serve your Highness!"
"Okay, Sun Qing, I promise you. This is the first time you've entered this imperial prison in your life, but it will definitely be the last time!"
