After the new Emperor of Liyang ascended the throne, he attached great importance to the administration of culture, especially the Hanlin Academy. His love for the Hanlin Academy was so great that it could not be increased any further. First of all, he moved Zhao Jiaweng's Yamen to the right side of the center line between the Wu Ying Hall and the Baohe Hall. Then he issued an edict that the Hanlin Academy's Head Scholar and the Ministry of Rites would jointly preside over the imperial examinations, which became a practice of the current dynasty. Therefore, the saying "in the future, those who are not from the Hanlin Academy are not allowed to enter the Pavilion" spread everywhere in the capital.
Today, the Hanlin Academy, which was holding a grand housewarming ceremony, could be said to be a gathering of heroes. What a dazzling line-up of splendid scenes! Jin Lanting, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who made his name here; Li Jifu, the new Zhuangyuan of the first year of Xiangfu, who held a post in the Hanlin Academy; Wu Congxian, who was both Tanhua and a new talent in the chess world; Song Keli, the Young Phoenix of the Song Family, who moved to the Hanlin Academy because of meritorious service; Yan Chiji, the son of the Grand Scholar of the Dongyuan Pavilion; Chen Wang, the Assistant Minister of the Left Scattered Cavalry of Liyang; Sun Yin, who was once the Right Chancellor of the Imperial College. Before this group of young talents, the oldest of whom was no more than 30 years old, gathered together, many important officials and officials who had a relationship with the Hanlin Academy had already left one after another. For example, Zhao Youling, the second-in-command of the Imperial Secretariat, Tantanon, Huan Wen, who was recognized as a veteran of the Hanlin Academy, the Heavenly Official Yin Maochun, who had been in charge of the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years and had recently entered the Ministry of Appointments, and the Minister of War, Lu Baijie, the Sword Immortal of Tangxi, who had the title of Xia Guan, had come either alone or together. They really made the brand-new Hanlin Academy shine, staining it with an air of nobility and elegance.
At this time, in the secluded courtyard at the beginning of spring, under a small tree with branches as small as jujube flowers, everyone was enjoying a game of Go. The people playing Go were not national players, nor were they the famous Wu Congxian who had defeated three national players in a row in the capital. Instead, they were two people whom everyone in the court felt were unfamiliar with. There was a huge age gap between the two. There was a stone table and four stone stools. On the table was a Yellow Rosewood Chessboard that was "very old-fashioned". On the left and right sides of the chessboard were black and white Go boxes that contained white and black Go pieces. On the stone stools were embroidered cushions. The two people playing Go were of course sitting and chatting. However, the people sitting on the other two stools were the pinnacle of honor in the world: the current Emperor, Zhao Zhuan, and the Empress, Yan Dongwu.
Other than the handsome young man nicknamed "Little Bookcase" by the Emperor, there was also a commoner from Liyang who was still a commoner. He was Fan Changhou from Xiangzhou, Guangling Road. Together with Wu Congxian, they were known as the "First and Third Nine". In the past, Fan Changhou was more skilled than Wu Congxian, so he was also known as "Fan Shi Duan". At the same time, Fan Changhou was good at painting dried rocks, wild plum blossoms, and winter bamboo. Among them, wild plum blossoms were the best, and they were proud and unsullied. Now in Tai 'an City, there was a saying that Fan Changhou was "a tree alone in spring". His paintings could be said to be priceless in the capital's officialdom. Before Wu Congxian became famous, the hidden Fan Changhou was specially summoned to the capital by the Emperor. The reason for this imperial edict was that his real identity was Little Bookcase from the Imperial Astronomer. Under the Emperor's instructions, he and Wu Congxian played six games in a row, three slow and three fast. Wu Congxian lost all of them cleanly, so Fan Changhou, who was known as the number one player in the chess world, naturally entered the Emperor's sight. The prize for this game that the Emperor personally set was not small. If Fan Changhou won, then he could directly stay in the Hanlin Academy as the "Yellow Gatekeeper". Now the Hanlin Academy was the well-deserved Dragon Pavilion for all the scholars in the world. The spectators were the smartest few people in the Liyang Dynasty. In fact, they were well aware that whether Fan Changhou won or lost on the chessboard was not important. To simplify the Emperor's heart, Fan Shi Duan had already won outside of the chessboard.
Little Bookcase was probably endowed with extraordinary talent, but in the end he was still a child. He did not have a good sitting posture. His body was slanted, one hand supporting his chin, the other hand moving quickly. It was almost as if he was hitting the board when Fan Changhou placed a piece. On the other hand, the plainly dressed Fan Changhou was at a disadvantage in terms of the demeanor of an otherworldly master. But this disadvantage was only in terms of the eccentricity of the Imperial Astronomer. In reality, Fan Changhou was sitting calmly and attentively. Whether it was slowly picking up a piece from the chessboard or "not moving" when he was thinking long and hard, they both had the demeanor of a grandmaster. Fan Shi Duan's response to Little Bookcase's aggressive attacks, both inside and outside of the chessboard, was neither too fast nor too slow. For the time being, there was no sign of victory or defeat between the two of them. Including Emperor Zhao Zhuan, the people who were able to stand aside and watch the game, not to mention Wu Congxian, who was very good at chess, even Chen Wang, who had never played chess with anyone before, had good eyesight. Even Empress Yan Dongwu, who was known as the "Female Scholar of Beiliang" in the past, could not take her eyes off the game and was very focused.
Yan Chiji was standing right behind his elder sister, who was known as the Mother of the Empire. He was the only one who gave up halfway when he went to the border to observe the political affairs. He parted ways with the Ministry of War, who was sent from Ji Bei to Liaoxi, and returned to the capital alone. This incident had damaged Yan Chiji's reputation in the scholarly circle. However, with the great protective talisman of the Imperial Uncle, no one dared to jump out and criticize him. Yan Chiji looked at the intrigue on the chessboard. He quietly raised his head and looked at the old Chinese parasol tree whose branches were filled with the joy of spring. His face was filled with fatigue. If the trip to Liangzhou had disappointed him and Kong Wu Chi, then the trip to Ji Bei had angered Yan Chiji. The defense line in Ji Bei had been an important military base for the Central Plains to defend against Beimang since the Han Family. Although Li Yang paid more attention to the two Liao Provinces, the generals who held the military power in Ji Bei were all carefully selected by the Ministry of War and candidates who were placed high hopes on by the imperial court. But what did Yan Chiji see in Ji Bei's Northern Pass? It was retreating before the battle and shrinking the defense line! Faced with his reprimand, the few border defense generals were vague. Gao Tingshu, who was picky in Beiliang, was surprisingly silent. Obviously, he had received instructions from someone in the capital. Yan Chiji retracted his gaze and looked coldly at Jin San Lang, who was not far away from him. The latter also sensed the unfriendly gaze from the young Imperial Uncle, but he responded with an impeccably gentle smile. Yan Chiji met his gaze. Suddenly, Yan Chiji felt his sleeve being pulled. He lowered his head and saw his sister pointing at a spot on the chessboard. She smiled gently and said, "Eunuch Zheng seems to have made a wonderful move. Don't you think so?"
When the child heard the Empress' praise, he raised his head and smiled brightly.
Yan Chiji sighed softly. He stopped arguing with the Assistant Minister and turned to watch the game.
Fan Zhanghou's response was still lukewarm. This made Chen Wang, who was also a relative of the imperial family like Yan Chiji, see him in a new light. Ordinary poor scholars would spread their tails like peacocks if they wanted to see the face of the Emperor. It was not easy for Fan Zhanghou to be so relaxed. The zhuangyuan, Li Jifu, was the son of a wealthy family in Liaodong. In terms of poetry, he was not as good as the second place, Gao Tingshu. In terms of the four arts, he was far from being as good as Wu Congxian. Thus, most people in the court thought that he was not worthy of the title of zhuangyuan. In reality, in the poetry club founded by Jin Lanting, it was rare to hear Li Jifu speak so loudly. However, a few days ago, the Minister of Revenue, Bai Guo, had asked to borrow Li Jifu from the Hanlin Academy. This made people realize that perhaps Li Jifu was not as unlikable as he appeared on the surface. Today, the only person in the group who could compete with Jin Lanting, Chen Shaobao, only spoke a few words with Li Jifu. Wu Congxian had originally wanted to go up and get familiar with the Left Sanqi's Assistant Minister, but soon there was an awkward silence.
Compared to everyone present, Song Keli's appearance today was the most unexpected. The two masters of the Song family who had dominated the literary world for decades were not worthy of the words "extremely tragic". After their deaths, their posthumous titles were only below average. At the time, Song Keli had been demoted from the noble Hanlin Academy to a county magistrate. Jin Lanting, who was more familiar with the rules of the officialdom, was very curious. How could the young phoenix of the Song family, who had fallen from a high branch into the mud, return to the capital? Who had he latched onto? For the time being, the nobles of the imperial clan did not have this ability. Tantanon had always had a bad impression of the Song family, so all the old people of Zhang Lu did not have a good impression of Song Keli. He had also not heard of the Head of the Secretariat, Qi Yanglong, having any interaction with the Song family. Jin Lanting pondered for a moment, but could not understand the main point, so he was too lazy to bother. Song Keli's ups and downs were destined to not affect the overall situation. In the past, Jin Lanting did want to take the initiative to show goodwill to the eldest grandson of the Song family, who was also a member of the Hanlin Academy. He even wanted to personally send him a few hundred knives to make his own signboard, but now? Even the Assistant Minister could turn a blind eye to this person. In a small court meeting filled with officials, he, Jin Lanting, could only respectfully accompany the last seat, but at this time and place, he was worthy of being called the head of the phoenix. As the Hanlin Academy rose in status in the Liyang imperial court, the position of the Ministry of Rites would also rise. It was certain that he would be in charge of the Ministry of Rites in the future. When the time came, the Ministry of Rites would be in charge and the Hanlin Academy would be in charge. Then, he, Jin Lanting, would be the common "teacher" of all the scholars during the Auspicious Era!
Jin Lanting smiled and bowed his head, looking down at the chessboard. He placed one hand on the suet jade belt on his waist that the Emperor had personally bestowed upon him, and the other hand quietly clenched.
The literary vein of the world was in his hands. Why should he worry about the connections in the imperial court?
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