Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

"Damn it, how could Liu Yunqing become the runner-up!"

East Palace.

The prince's face was gloomy. The fragrant tea in his hand was difficult to swallow. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He waved his hand and smashed the teacup to the ground.

"Clang~"

As the teacup broke, He Peng, who was bending over, looked slightly unhappy.

"Your Highness, there is actually not much difference between the second and third place winners. Deng Hongwen became the first place winner. He joined the Tenth Prince. Judging from the Tenth Prince's current strength, he cannot pose a threat to you."

But just as he finished speaking, the prince snorted coldly: "What do you know, the tenth prince is the brother of the eighth prince. Although the eighth prince is dead, most of his power has been transferred to the tenth prince.

Not only that, many industries were also taken over by Lao Shi, and during this period Lao Shi secretly gained a lot of benefits.

Moreover, my father is hosting a banquet tonight, and he has asked the Ministry of Personnel to prepare a list of official positions. This is clearly an opportunity to divide the officials. As the top scholar, Deng Hongwen must have the highest official position!"

As soon as these words came out, He Peng's face changed slightly.

Although he knew something about the situation on the Tenth Prince's side, the fact that the Crown Prince took it so seriously must mean that the situation was more serious than he imagined.

With a turn of his eyes, He Peng said with a wry smile: "Your Highness, no matter what position His Majesty assigns to Deng Hongwen tonight, we will all oppose it together!

I'm sure the Fourth Prince wouldn't want to see this happen, but he will definitely cooperate with us."

The prince's eyes lit up: "That makes sense. If that's the case, we must do our best to stop Deng Hongwen tonight and we must not let him become a high-ranking official!"

Although no one was sent to inform the Fourth Prince and other princes, the Crown Prince believed that as long as the princes were not fools, they would definitely come forward to help.

This isn't just his business, it's everyone's business.

Once Deng Hongwen becomes powerful and the Tenth Prince gains power, he will probably become the second Eighth Prince in the future.

After all, the Eighth Prince was assassinated because of his own fault. They will never allow anyone to be stronger than themselves!

Time flies to night.

On a September evening, the night breeze was blowing gently, the bright moon was shining on the imperial garden, and the ground was covered with flowers, which was quite interesting at first glance.

In the middle of the garden, tables were filled with food and wine. Officials came in one after another, each finding a seat to talk with people they knew.

Although there were a large number of people, the Imperial Garden was very large, and only the top ten candidates were eligible to sit down, while the other candidates all had to stand at the back.

It’s called a banquet, but everyone knows that this banquet is only for the top ten.

As the princes and officials arrived one after another, the noise at the scene became louder.

At this moment, the eunuch chief, Zhao Ming, spoke: "Your Majesty has arrived, and the Queen has arrived!"

For the first imperial examination, the emperor gave full face and even invited the empress to the banquet.

The emperor, dressed in a dragon robe and looking energetic, walked slowly towards them, holding the queen's hand.

"Greetings to His Majesty (Father)!"

The emperor smiled and said, "No need to be polite, my friends."

He pulled the queen to sit down, then waved to everyone, "Everyone, sit down."

After everyone was seated, the maids brought the wine and delicacies. Immediately, the aroma of the wine and food spread throughout the entire imperial garden.

"Come, my dear ministers, drink this cup first for the new number one scholar!" The emperor raised his glass first.

Everyone did not dare to be negligent and raised their glasses to Deng Hongwen.

But at this moment, Deng Hongwen was neither humble nor arrogant. He raised the wine glass and gestured to the emperor, then gestured to the ministers, and then drank it all in one gulp.

After drinking this cup, the emperor became interested and raised his cup again and said with a smile: "This cup is for the second and third place winners."

These words made Liu Yunqing and Yang Wentao's faces change slightly.

The toast to Deng Hongwen was made alone, but they toasted together.

This is clearly telling others that the two of them are not as good as Deng Hongwen!

This is the difference between the top three in the imperial examination!

Even the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince looked a little grim at this moment.

The emperor told his ministers in public that even if Yang Wentao and Liu Yunqing were combined, they would not be as good as Deng Hongwen.

But knowing is one thing, and being unable to stop it is another.

This is the difference between the emperor and the prince.

Can all these princes combined compare to the emperor?

At this moment, the prince and others could only look gloomy and dare not speak.

The emperor also noticed everyone's gazes, glanced around, and finally set his eyes on Chu Ning.

Seeing Chu Ning's nonchalant look, the emperor suddenly laughed and said, "Chu Ning has made an indelible contribution to the success of this imperial examination!

This time, Chu Ning will read out the official titles and titles."

Everyone was stunned and looked at the Minister of Personnel Zhou Chengyi, whose face changed slightly, but he still took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Chu Ning respectfully.

This should have been the business of the Minister of Personnel, but since the emperor had spoken, Zhou Chengyi didn't dare to say more.

Chu Ning's mouth twitched.

The emperor is going to put me on the fire.

But the arrow was on the string and had to be fired.

Chu Ning took the list and opened it, his face immediately revealed a solemn look.

The emperor noticed the change in Chu Ning's expression and couldn't help but laugh: "Chu Ning, what are you standing there for? Read!"

Chu Ning took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "According to the current vacancies in our dynasty, Deng Hongwen can be the Minister of Rites, Liu Yunqing can be the Director of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance, and Yang Wentao can be the Director of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Comparison!

The rest of the people, according to the ranking, the top seven to ten can be fifth-rank officials in various government offices, the second-rank can stay in Kyoto as sixth-rank officials, and the third-rank can go to various places to be county magistrates or county magistrates. "

Among more than 600 candidates, only half of them can enter the top three.

Among these half of the people, only the second-class ones can stay in Kyoto City, while the third-class ones need to be transferred to the local areas.

I have to say that the Ministry of Personnel's considerations are very thorough.

As for the top three, the Ministry of Personnel also gave them high-level treatment.

The Minister of Rites was killed while on a diplomatic mission to the State of Chu, leaving the position vacant.

The official in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance was originally Wen Kaicheng, but Wen Kaicheng betrayed Chu Ning and is now still in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. They will wait until the murderer of the eighth prince is found and the case will be closed together. This also leaves the position of the Ministry of Finance vacant.

As for the Bibu Division of the Ministry of Justice, that was the territory of the Ministry of Justice, and the Minister of Justice Ling Haoran was the father-in-law of the prince. Yang Yuntao also defected to the prince, so the Ministry of Personnel deliberately arranged Yang Yuntao in the Ministry of Justice to give face to the prince.

That’s quite thoughtful!

Chu Ning sighed.

However, Deng Hongwen was directly given the position of Vice Minister of Rites. Although it was not a position with real power, the rank of the official position was there, which was lower than that of Yang Wentao and Liu Yunqing. The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince would probably not agree.

Moreover, the Ministry of Personnel has a complicated intention in doing this.

After taking a deep look at the Minister of Personnel Zhou Chengyi, Chu Ning shifted his gaze to Deng Hongwen and others, and said with a smile:

"You have studied the books of sages for more than ten years. Now you have achieved success. Show your gratitude!"

Deng Hongwen and others immediately stood up and prepared to bow and express their gratitude.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the prince suddenly shouted: "Wait a minute!"

Sure enough, it came!

Chu Ning raised the corner of his mouth slightly and asked calmly: "Brother Crown Prince, is there anything else?"