Fang Yun and the others walked to the round table. The huge round table could seat 30 people. There was no difference between each chair and no name. But in the process of following Fang Yun, everyone was ordered according to their position.
If the positions were the same, they would be ordered according to the order of Jinshi. If the positions were the same in the same year, they would be ordered according to the order of release.
When Fang Yun stood at the chair closest to the front, the four Hanlin Scholars stood at the chair on his left. The rest of the people also chose their seats.
Without anyone's guidance, they could find their own seats.
After the 30 Jinshi stood, the rest of the guests also found their seats one after another. No one sat down.
In front of the red Jinshi table, there was a white marble staircase leading to the Hall of Heaven. The whole Hall of Heaven was built on a platform. There was an open space between the staircase and the door.
On the open space of the platform, there were incense tables and other tools for praying for rain. It was obviously different from the sacrificial ceremonies in the Holy Temple, the ancestral temple, or the mountains and rivers. It was not so grand.
Not long after, there were drums and music. The Empress Dowager slowly walked out of the Hall of Heaven with the monarch in her arms.
The monarch was young and could not pray for rain. He must be led by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager could only listen from behind the curtain. When praying for rain, she would cover her face with a veil to avoid messing up the etiquette.
The Empress Dowager walked around the table and stood in front of everyone. Then everyone greeted her.
After that, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites presided over the prayer for rain and read the text.
If it was a big ceremony, even the monarch had to kneel down and worship heaven and earth first. But it was not the case in the early spring meeting.
The Empress Dowager gave the young monarch to the palace maids. Then she stood in front of the incense table and prayed to heaven. Everyone just bowed and did not kneel down.
After praying to heaven, beautiful jade, cloth, and three animals were presented. Then wine was offered. Everyone prayed again. Then the ritual music sounded and people were ordered to dance. Finally, wine was offered again and the prayer for rain ended.
However, an embarrassing thing happened. After the prayer for rain ended, there was no rain.
Although this was common, everyone present felt a little uncomfortable. Even if the Empress Dowager covered her face, they could feel that she seemed a little unhappy.
According to the usual practice, the Prime Minister would stand up at this time and pray for rain again with sad words. But secretly, he borrowed the power of the Holy Temple to rain.
An accident happened.
Ao Huang muttered in a low voice, "It's just raining. What's the point of praying?" After saying that, his waist swayed, and his body suddenly grew to the height of a five-story building.
Everyone saw a golden light shoot up into the sky, and then they heard the sound of rolling thunder. Then, dark clouds covered the sky, and they saw the image of a golden dragon rolling in the dark clouds.
When Fang Yun saw that Ao Huang was about to flood the Imperial City, he hurriedly whispered, "Ao Huang, make the rain lighter!"
"Kacha …"
A bright bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The lightning almost covered the entire city, and the deafening sound of thunder rolled in all directions.
A fine drizzle fell and enveloped the capital.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites hurriedly said, "The Empress Dowager prays for rain, with the help of the true dragon. He is indeed a saint! God bless Jingguo! "
Everyone immediately shouted, "God bless Jingguo!"
Many people breathed a sigh of relief. Having the true dragon summon the clouds and rain was much better than using the Holy Temple's talent qi to cheat. At least, it could be recorded in the history books. Other countries could not enjoy the treatment of having the true dragon summon the rain.
Fang Yun secretly glanced at the Empress Dowager who was on the stage. He felt that her attitude was much better.
Afterwards, the palace was covered by the drizzle so that no one could hold a meeting in the rain.
The palace servants removed the incense table and other utensils, and after the Empress Dowager took a seat, everyone followed suit.
After praying for rain, the minister of the Ministry of Rites personally went forward to pick up the imperial edict and read out the great merits that the thirty people had made. He praised everyone, especially Fang Yun. Finally, he read out the rewards. Everyone was promoted by a rank and their titles were promoted. Each of them was rewarded with a Jinshi literary treasure, as well as a house, farmland, gold, silver, and other treasures.
The thirty Jinshi scholars were all overjoyed.
Many people were calculating in their hearts that Fang Yun had been promoted by another rank. Coupled with his previous merits, he would at least be the minister of the six ministries after the imperial examination. He might even become the prime minister. That was simply subverting the officialdom of the Ten Nations. Whoever dared to compete with him for promotion would be better off killing themselves.
The relatives of the thirty Jinshi scholars were at the banquet and they were all extremely excited. In the future, these Jinshi scholars would almost be spared from death. After making such great contributions to Jingguo, as long as they did not make any mistakes, they would definitely be promoted step by step. Even if they made a small mistake, no one would dare to target them.
If these people were to devote themselves to politics and the military, Jingguo would definitely belong to them in at most twenty years.
Promotion in the officialdom of the Ten Nations not only required factions, but also actual merits.
Allowing Jingguo to suppress the Ten Nations and become the first was a top merit that was greater than educating the people, calming them down, enriching them, and military strategy.
Even if the king grew up in the future, he would not dare to casually demote these people. Otherwise, those imperial censors would dare to remonstrate in the throne room.
Everyone in the Left Prime Minister's party and King Kang's party secretly sighed. Among the thirty Jinshi scholars, only three were from the two parties. The rest were not closely related to the two parties.
The official positions of the newly promoted Jinshi scholars had yet to be confirmed, but the remaining Jinshi scholars all had official positions. At least half of them would take the opportunity to be promoted. Regardless of whether they were to become civil or military officials, they would definitely have great power.
For example, a few Hanlin scholars would be able to become the governor of a state or the governor of a state army.
There were limited official positions in Jingguo. Once these people had real power, the power of the Left Prime Minister and King Kang's party would definitely be weakened.
Besides, the Left Prime Minister, Mount Liu, was now keeping a low profile. It was impossible for him to fall out with the Jinshi scholars or Hanlin scholars who had made great contributions. The only thing he could do was to let Ji Zhibai and the other two occupy the best official positions.
However, Ji Zhibai was very talented. For the sake of his future, he would definitely go to the Notre-Dame to pursue his studies for at least two years after the court examination. It was impossible for him to hold any real power. Hence, the benefits that the Left Prime Minister's party had in the near future were minimal.
Seeing this, the people in the Left Prime Minister and King Kang's party were a little depressed.
After the reward, the wine and dishes began to be served.
Fang Yun and the other 29 people sat together in a circle. The 30 people first toasted the Empress Dowager and the king, then toasted the other guests. Finally, they drank a total of three glasses of wine before starting to eat.
He Ludong took a few bites and put down his chopsticks. He sighed softly and said, "Thinking back to the past few days, I almost died. It feels like a lifetime ago."
"Yes, I have been fighting with the demons and barbarians for more than ten years, but the battle at the hunting ground was definitely the most dangerous battle! How could a group of Jinshi scholars fight against Half-saint's avatar? They didn't even have the luxury of coming back alive. "
"Hehe, thinking about those idiots from the Lei Clan, they make all the pores on my body feel comfortable."
Ji Zhibai sighed and said, "It's all thanks to Fang Xusheng. He saved our lives and helped me achieve the first level of literary courage. Come, everyone, let's toast to Fang Xusheng. "
Everyone hurriedly raised their glasses.
Fang Yun smiled and raised his glass. He clinked it with everyone's and drank it in one gulp.
Qiao Juze smiled and said, "How is it? Have you prepared today's poem? Don't blame me for not reminding you. According to tradition, the first poem of the Spring Literary Meet should not only be about spring, but also about rain. "
"This definitely won't be a problem for Fang Xusheng," Ji Zhibai said.
"Don't tell me you've already prepared it?" Ma Chaoming, who was beside him, sipped his wine.
"No, I just remembered it today. But I already have a draft, so it shouldn't be a problem," Fang Yundao said.
"That's good. I told you that the Spring Literary Meet won't be a problem for Fang Xusheng."
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