On the sixth day of November, there was heavy snow, the sky was cold and snowy, and the birds were silent.

At this time of year, heavy snowfall is falling almost everywhere in the north, decorating the capital city like a blanket of snow.

Each solar term has its own customs, such as rice cakes, bacon, stove sacrifices, etc.

Of course, it is also indispensable to join in the fun of praying to gods and worshiping Buddha every solar term.

As the main temple in Beijing appointed by Daolu Si, Zhenwu Temple is undoubtedly one of the most popular temples.

In addition to enjoying official sacrifices at specific times, there is also an endless stream of people coming to worship on weekdays.

Just like today's heavy snow.

In the head of Guizhou, gentry, good families, and students, each wearing a variety of clothes, including jacket skirts, cotton-padded jackets, long coats, and large cloaks, flowers, red, and green, walked in and out in front of the Zhenwu Temple.

"Candied haws on a stick! Delicious and inexpensive candied haws on a stick!"

"New year cake! Hot big rice cake!"

The cries of hawkers outside the temple were endless, and it was very lively.

Gu Xiancheng and Sun Jigao found a random stall outside the temple, one ate noodles and the other ate wontons.

Sun Jigao just entered Beijing at the end of last month, and he was preparing to take the Jinshi Jinshi examination. People at that time said that his name was good. Zhao Zhigao in the previous class was a first-class scholar. Now this Jigao should succeed and win the first class again.

.

Sun Jigao was a native of Wuxi, South Zhili. He was about the same age as Li Sancai and Gu Xiancheng. He was not yet twenty-four years old.

The three of them are old friends.

Gu Xiancheng held chopsticks in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

In order to prevent Sun Jigao from always trying to get in here, Gu Xiancheng thoughtfully read out the words for his friend word for word.

"In August of the sixth year of Longqing's reign, with the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate at the top, and the Department of Civil Affairs and the Examination Department at the bottom, a written examination book was set up, and deadlines were set for unfinished matters, large and small, and were observed internally and externally."

"In August of the first year, one year expires."

"The ministries, academies, departments, and sections will inspect the northern and southern capitals and one province in Fujian every year, and the political work of more than 7,000 officials will be completed on the third day of November."

"The ministries and departments submit the date of issuance of each quarterly memorial. The two capitals, and Fuyin Prefecture and County in Fujian also provide the date of each quarterly memorial for verification. I have been diligent enough to see it now!"

"Among them, 298 are excellent, 931 are inferior, and the rest are all qualified..."

When Gu Xiancheng read this, he couldn't help but stop and sighed: "There are as many as nine hundred and thirty-one."

Seeing that he stopped reading, Sun Jigao took the Di newspaper from Gu Xiancheng's hand.

He tilted his head, frowned, and looked carefully.

From time to time, he nodded and said to himself: "This round of repayment of salary and additional performance, a total of 170,000 taels will be paid out. The money is actually from internal funds! Your Majesty is really a benevolent king!"

When Gu Xiancheng heard this, he nodded in approval.

Distributing money is undisputed virtue.

What's more, the emperor paid for it.

This is so much higher than the late emperor that I don’t know where.

Gu Xiancheng took the newspaper from Sun Jigao again, and the two of them fought for it.

Although the store put a new newspaper on the counter, the two of them seemed not to have seen it - poor people just read the new newspaper in vernacular, but if a family of officials also read the new newspaper, then their ancestors were not white officials?

It’s even worse if you mistake it for bitterness, haha.

Gu Xiancheng held the Dibao in his hand again: "Starting from next year, Huguang, Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi will also start passing the exam. The supplementary salary will probably be doubled by then. I only hope that Your Majesty will not give up halfway."

Sun Jigao shook his head: "This is all owed by the past emperors. If the salary was paid on time in previous years, how could we owe so much? Now it is the future generations who have to pay off the debt. Even if His Majesty does not pay this money next year, it is still a kindness.

The King of Virtue.”

Although he sympathized with officials who were owed wages, in the past the emperor's lower limit was too low, so Sun Jigao automatically lowered his expectations.

Gu Xiancheng nodded and no longer thought about the future.

He turned and said thoughtfully: "Speaking of which, after these officials receive their salaries, I'm afraid there will be many officials who live on their salaries and are eagerly waiting for the test to be completed."

I don’t know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but this act of virtue has invisibly reduced a lot of resistance.

Sun Jigao also quite agreed with this: "That's why I say His Majesty is benevolent."

However, he still had some criticisms about other things. He changed the subject and said with emotion: "Your Majesty is good at everything else, but in the matter of Tu Xiying and Wang Jiaping, his likes and dislikes are too obvious."

"The ruler's likes and dislikes should not be observed by others, for fear that traitors will follow him. He should be like a prisoner from heaven. He should take care of his own good and evil, and then punish and reward him accordingly, so that all his merits and demerits will be realized."

In Sun Jigao's view, once the monarch's likes and dislikes are revealed, they will have a great impact.

Especially those villains who follow the monarch's favor. In serious cases, it may even lead to bias in the government's affairs.

The last thing an emperor should do is to clearly state what someone did well and what they did poorly, and then scold or praise them.

Instead, you should hide what your subordinates do and only reward and punish them.

Scolding a Tu Xiying made him lose face and force him to retire and return home. Is the punishment too severe?

When everyone admires a Wang Jiaping, everyone will imitate him and hide his true nature. How can the emperor tell who is a gentleman and who is a villain?

Therefore, in Sun Jigao's opinion, the emperor just stayed in the Forbidden City for a long time and went out of the palace to mess around.

But Gu Xiancheng did not agree with this point.

He shook his head and retorted: "I don't agree with Yide's statement."

"At that time, Li Deyu once advised Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, saying, 'The emperor and his ministers were good at doing good deeds, but they kept silent about their minor faults, which accumulated over time, leading to disaster and failure.'"

"Instead of showing greatness externally and hiding things internally, shouldn't we be able to confront the minister if he is guilty and allow him to change his ways?"

"Instead of mastering the art and serving the subordinates, shouldn't the ministers have merit and be rewarded face to face so that others can learn from it?"

"If you have a most humble heart, you will not be swayed by opinions; if you have a most impartial heart, you will not be swayed by love and hate."

"That's why the ruler hides his likes and dislikes and manipulates his power, but he has no humility and no impartiality."

As the old saying goes.

Therefore, Sun Jigao used Fu Bi's ancient sayings, while Gu Xiancheng used Li Deyu's ancient sayings.

If you are good at learning, you can compete with any proverb or classic.

The main reason was that the two had different views on the emperor.

In Sun Jigao's view, the emperor was somewhat too harsh, and reprimanding ministers in person was really disrespectful to the country.

Gu Xiancheng, on the other hand, was very satisfied with the emperor's attitude in handling Fugu.

This is a good emperor who listens to opinions!

Not only did he correct the chaos for Xiong Dunpu and deal with Song Confucianism, but he also rewarded a group of common people, including Wuzhongxing and Zhao Yongxian, who served as Zhongshushe people and accompanied him around.

An emperor who can humbly accept advice is better than anything else!

As friends, differences of opinion do not affect friendship.

Sun Jigao smiled and waved his hand, saying nothing.

A while passed.

Both of them finished eating.

Gu Xiancheng couldn't help but look around: "Why did it take so long for Li Sancai to buy a candy man?"

Sun Jigao also stood up and looked at the endless crowd, looking for any familiar faces.

The two looked at each other for a long time.

Finally, Li Sancai emerged from the crowd.

I saw him pushing through the crowd, holding three candy figures in his hand, and smiling brightly at the two of them.

Li Sancai walked up to Gu Xiancheng and Sun Jigao in just a few steps.

Although I was a little embarrassed due to the crowd, the smile on my face did not diminish.

He handed the two flag-shaped candy figures in his hands to Gu Xiancheng and Sun Jigao: "Spring is less than a hundred days away. I only hope that you two will win this time!"

When Gu Xiancheng and Sun Jigao saw this, their long-awaited displeasure was instantly wiped away.

The two laughed, took it in their hands and thanked them.

Sun Jigao looked at the remaining carp candy man in Li Sancai's hand and asked curiously: "How come you, this candy man, are not the same as what I was waiting for?"

When Gu Xiancheng heard this, he also looked curiously.

Li Sancai put the fish tail to his mouth, took a lick, and said helplessly: "You two are in the first spring, so you can naturally win with a flag. It's a pity that I, a World War II person, have already waved the flag once."

"After thinking about it, it's more common for Carp to Leap over Dragon Gate."

Although he is only twenty-two years old now, he has already passed the Jinshi exam once and failed.

Sun Jigao shook his head and laughed.

Then some more casual remarks were made.
To be continued...