The Difficult Road to Seeking an Officialship In 746, the thirty-five-year-old Du Fu came to Chang'an and was very proud at first.

His grandfather was very famous, and his mother's family was somewhat related to the royal family, so he quickly became familiar with respectable figures such as King Li Jing of Ruyang (jìn) and Prince Consort Zheng Qianyao (yào).

Although he was still a commoner, he felt that he had a bright future, that he could achieve fame immediately, and that he could interact with the princes on an equal footing, so he had no sense of inferiority.

On New Year's Eve this year, Du Fu was living alone in the hotel with nothing to do. He was a little bored watching the candles flickering lonely, and heard the sound of people gambling downstairs. On a whim, he joined in and shouted

The suit of the dice.

Although he lost some money, he laughed loudly and said: "Back then, Liu Yi's family had no food every day, but he dared to gamble a million." Liu Yi was a famous general in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He rarely had great ambitions, did not stick to trivial matters, and made many military exploits.

, known as the champion general.

At this time, Du Fu was still as bold and bold as when he roamed Qi and Zhao. He was very ambitious and believed that there was hope for a great rise.

Sure enough, just after the New Year, the opportunity came.

In order to show his love for talents, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict that anyone with skills in literature and art could take the Beijing examination.

This is called the imperial examination, which is different from the regularly held imperial examination. It is initiated by the emperor temporarily, so it is more difficult.

Du Fu was a stubborn man. He failed the imperial examination when he was twenty-four years old, so he did not want to take the exam again, so he chose the more difficult and narrower imperial examination.

This is like a gambler who loses money and then becomes ruthless and places a bigger bet in an attempt to make it back at once and at the same time make his face brighter.

Thirty-six-year-old Du Fu walked into the examination room and tried his best to write a beautiful essay. He thought he was bound to pass the exam, so he returned to the hotel to drink wine, read poems, and wait happily.

But the result he waited for was that he failed the exam.

And what’s even more strange is that no one made the list this time.

The entire city of Chang'an was bombed, and various speculations abounded.

The prime minister in charge of the examination, Li Linfu, calmly congratulated the emperor happily: "No one passed this examination. This shows that all the talents in the country have been selected by you to come to the court, and there are no talented people left among the people."

It can be seen that you are an unprecedented saint." Tang Xuanzong was old at this time and only wanted to have fun, so he actually believed this nonsense.

One of Du Fu's friends, Yuan Jie, was also unsuccessful. He angrily wrote an article explaining the reason.

It turns out that although Li Linfu was born into a royal family, he was a very despicable person.

It's just that he can cater to the emperor's wishes, so he is very popular.

Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was originally a wise monarch. He not only put down the chaos after Wu Zetian, but also single-handedly created the prosperous Kaiyuan era. However, after being in power for a long time, he inevitably became complacent and lax.

Seeing that there is more money and food in the treasury than can be used up, the people are said to be living and working in peace and contentment, with adequate food and clothing; there are many talents in the court, and everyone is taking care of big and small things; the border is also peaceful, and the soldiers and horses under each army are strong.

So he was satisfied and said to himself: "After working hard for half a lifetime, it's time to enjoy it." He changed his reign name from Kaiyuan to Tianbao, and changed his life goal from striving for governance to ease and enjoyment.

When he was sixty years old, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty married a daughter-in-law and made her a noble concubine.

This is the famous fat beauty Yang Yuhuan.

Tang Xuanzong was an artist and could compose dance music; Yang Yuhuan was beautiful, smart, and good at singing and dancing.

Although the two people are very different in age, they are both talented and beautiful, they are in love with each other, and they live a happy life that even gods would envy.

Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty handed over all political affairs to Li Linfu.

"The Emperor Ming and his Horses" painted by the modern painter Xu Cao shows Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Concubine Yang riding horses side by side.

Amidst the sounds of silk and bamboo, the princesses presented delicacies one after another. It is said that one plate cost the wealth of ten middle-class families, which was very luxurious.

But Xuanzong enjoyed it.

As a result, the Tang Dynasty, which was at its peak, gradually experienced crisis.

Li Linfu was obsessed with corruption. In order to keep his position as prime minister, he suppressed those who were capable and attacked those who opposed him.

He created a series of unjust, false and wrong cases, and demoted or killed the upright and talented ministers during the Kaiyuan period.

Just the previous year, he framed the prince for treason, implicating many innocent people. The famous scholar Li Yong was brutally tortured to death, and the left prime minister Li Shizhi was forced to commit suicide.

For a time, an atmosphere of tension and terror enveloped the court.

People who do a lot of evil usually have a guilty conscience.

Li Linfu was no exception. He stayed at home at night, always on tenterhooks, and took turns sleeping in several rooms to avoid the assassins.

When he heard that the emperor wanted to select talents, he was afraid that one of these people would be a thorn in his side, talk unabashedly, and write articles to expose his crimes, so he simply refused to admit any of them.

The failure of this exam gave Du Fu a heavy blow.

He wandered around, thinking that this time he would become famous in one fell swoop, rise to the top, and launch his career.

Unexpectedly, he was hit on the head, and he was hit so dizzy that he couldn't regain his strength for a long time.

His mentality suddenly became old and decadent, and his hair even turned a little gray.

In his poems, a man who is only thirty-nine years old constantly calls himself "Shaolingye Lao".

The arrogant energy while roaming around Qi Zhao was gradually worn away by the tragic reality.

After failing to pass the exam, Du Fu had no financial resources, and his life in Chang'an became increasingly difficult day by day.